New Beginnings//Miss Universe[1] M.P.H.F.P.C.: Enoch O'Connor

chapter Two

i head upstairs and see the new boy exit Enoch's room with emma, olive following shortly after.

"who's that?" i ask Enoch as i enter his room.

"Jake." he says almost aggressively.

"i'm guessing he's the grandson of Abe." Enoch nods. Enoch started to despise Abe after he left Emma and broke her heart. he surely hated Jake more then Abe, fearing that he would also break Emma's heart.

"now come on. cheer up buttercup, we've got to get ready for dinner." he groans and i give him an amused look. "i'll be back, to make sure you look nice enough for diner. no pickling substance this time, okay?" he nods and i smirk at him before turning abruptly and leaving his room. i enter my room, which was next to Emma's and look through the closet. i pick out a bright red dress with sleeves that went to my elbows. the dress was fairly snug until it hit the waist where it flared out. 

i spin around in the mirror and smile. Enoch had gotten it for my birthday last year and it was one of my favorites. i quickly, but nicely, pin up my hair and double check my appearance before heading towards Enoch's room. 

"Enoch, you ready?" i ask knocking on his door. he grumbles in response, a sign that he was. i smile before entering his room. he was at his mirror, having trouble with tying his tie. 

i go over and stand in front of him and start tying his tie. "now, i know you don't like Jake-"

"that's an understatement." he grumbled. i whack his shoulder lightly.

"but you can't let that get to you, okay?" i tell him sternly as i finish with his tie. i straighten it out before he steps back and puts on his vest. "now please enjoy dinner, and don't scare the kids off."

he gives me a little smirk.

i smile at him and tug him down the stairs by his arm. we find the dinner table just as miss peregrine rings the dinner bell. Enoch, being the oldest male, sits at the end of the table, across from miss peregrine. i sit on his left, across from Fiona. Horace sat next to Fiona and bronwyn next to him. there was two empty chairs next to bronwyn, one was for Emma, the other i assume Millard was in. the twins sat a chair away from me and olive sat next to them. Hugh sat next to olive and Claire next to him. 

the door opened and in walked Jake and Emma. bronwyn handed Emma her belt as she sat down. Jake decided to take the seat next to her. 

"hey! what are you doing?" Millard exclaimed as Jake pulled the chair back.

"Millard. go and put some clothes on. polite persons do not take their supper in the nude." miss peregrine tells Millard as she sits down. 

some of the girls giggle. 

"all right, all right." Millard says before walking out of the room. 

"you can sit next to Amira, Jake." Olive tells him as he sits down.

Jake doesn't respond, not knowing how to respond, i presume.

"look at Enoch." Horace says, putting all the attention on Enoch. "he's jealous." 

"why would i be jealous?" Enoch says leaning forward. "Amira can go marry Jake, for all i care." 

i frown and look down at the table, my heart hurting. 

"don't be mean Enoch, she doesn't want to. Olive's just excited to have a visitor." Fiona says speaking up. i look up and send her a thankful smile. "besides, she wants to marry you."

my mouth gapes open.

"nobody is marrying anybody." miss peregrine speaks up. "now, eat up your food before it get's cold."

i pick up my fork, ready to dive into the large peas, slice of carrot the size of a cake and mashed potatoes. 

a buzzing sound fills the air as Hugh goes to eat his food.

"Hugh!" Emma cries out in surprise. a swarm of bees had exited his mouth. 

"where's you net?" Emma asks as she and bronwyn swat away the bees. Hugh pulls his hat with a net on from under the table. he leaves his net open and sucks in all the bees. Hugh closes his net as miss peregrine sends him the last bee. 

"must be very strange for you, Jake." Fiona says. "meeting your grandfather's friends. visiting another century."

"are there space ships in your time, Jake?" Olive asks. "like the Flash Gordon books."

"now, now, Olive." miss peregrine reprimands. "what did i say about asking questions?" Olive turns her head away. "we don't discuss the future hear, we enjoy living in the good old here and now." 

"Claire, why aren't you eating?" miss peregrine asks after she eats a chicken leg. 

"she's embarrassed in front of jake." hugh tells her. 

"don't be. please." jake tells claire.

claire looks up with a little smile and miss peregrine winks at her. she grabs the large chicken leg and lifts up her hair, bringing it to her back mouth. a chomping sound could be hears for less then a second before she brings the bone of the leg back, all clean and places it on her plate. miss peregrine stands up proud and wipes her backmouth. 

"so jake, what's your peculiarity?" horace asks.

"oh, um. i'm-i'm not peculiar." he stutters.

"and that, my friends, is why he will not be staying with us no matter how hard we try to persuade him." enoch says speaking up. i give him a look and he falls silent. 

"we've spoken about this." miss peregrine tells the kids. "jake is just visiting."

"he might want to stay." hugh says.

"don't you want to stay, jake?" olive asks. 

"tonight? or..." jake asks confused.

"forever. you should stay forever." claire calls out excited.

"why would he, if he doesn't have to?" Enoch asks rhetorically. "he can live out there, grow older, have a good time instead. He'll leave, just like his grandfather did."

emma slams her utensils against the table before storming out. I kick Enoch's shin and glare at him.

"i'm going to go talk to her. Enoch." i say motion for him to follow before leaving the dinning hall.

i stop him in the hallway.

"what?" he asks.

"i know you hate abe for what he did and i know you hate jake, but that is NO reason to take it out on everyone. Emma's sad enough without you reminding her of what he did. so stop making everyone else feel terrible about it. Jake couldn't control what Abe did, so stop taking it out on jake." i scold him. he looks down at his feet ashamed.