STATIC; JR [2]

3.2

Alice was in our direct line of sight, casually walking around the front garden and toward the open front door.

I suddenly felt terribly intimidated, but shook it off as best I could.

"There she is." Sam's voice was a mere mumble as we approached Phoebe's house. As he spoke, he began to creep forward, suddenly slowing his pace. Felix, on the other hand, trudged forward. I reached out for his arm, but he escaped my grasp; there was no stopping him.

He was fuming, angry beyond comprehension. I couldn't blame him, but his emotions were so different from only a few minutes earlier, when he was comforting me about what happened with Dylan. We all ran to catch up to him, afraid of what he might do without our intervention. "Where is he?" He demanded, nearly shouting at the blonde woman. She looked innocent enough, but I was smart enough to realise that her looks could all be fake. Her taste in clothing was strange, but I wouldn't have expected anything less.

"What are you doing here?" She greeted us with a small smile, trying to appear unfazed by our intrusion into her sister's front garden. I could see the look in her eyes was much less settled than the look on her face. She was nervous.

Felix ignored her for the most part and repeated himself, almost desperate in his attempts to find some information that could help us. "Where's Andy?" He asked, taking another step forward. She didn't back away, and to my surprise, she stepped towards us.

"He's not home?" She questioned, her head tilted to the side. Her expression mirrored one of concern, but it was hard to tell if it was real or not. I had to believe that she was lying, for Andy's sake. "What's going on? Didn't you try the spell?"

Felix shook his head and pointed at her in clear accusation. "You set us up!" He cried, his eyes turned to slits as he glared at her. I could only imagine what he was thinking. Alice remained impartial as Felix went on. "The spell you gave us summoned a water demon."

The woman dropped her gaze for a short second before bringing it back up to Felix's face. She shook her head twice as she answered. "No, you mustn't have done it right." She told us.

This only seemed to make Felix even angrier. He took another step forward, but it was small. "Show me the book, then." He ordered with no signs of backing down. "Show me the spell."

At this, Alice shrugged. "I don't have it." She said. Felix opened his mouth to say something else but he was stopped when Phoebe came rushing outside. I was surprised it had taken her this long to find us with all the shouting.

"What's going on out here?" She yelled, standing in front of Alice in a protective manner.

Felix didn't hesitate in telling her what was happening, he didn't miss a beat. It was almost as if he was waiting for her to show up. "Your sister sabotaged our spell to bring Andy home!"

Jake stepped in then, placing a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "Felix, look, maybe you've got this wrong." He said, his voice apprehensive.

Beside me, Sam scoffed. It was light and perhaps unintentional, but it caught the attention of Felix. "Yeah." He agreed with Jake wholeheartedly. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Felix pushed away from Jake, glaring back toward Sam with narrowed orbs. "It wasn't my fault!" He then turned toward Alice with even more fury. "You have to tell us where Andy is!"

Alice said nothing as Phoebe glared right back at Felix. "She doesn't have to do anything." Her voice lowered after that, and she seemed slightly embarrassed to have been yelling at him in front of us. "Look, we can't help you." At that she turned around, dragging Alice along with her.

Felix lunged forward, latching onto Alice wrist with a determination I hadn't seen in him since back in the forest. "Why won't you tell me?" He cried, appearing to dig his nails into her clothed forearm. Alice winced, trying to pull free from his hold.

She looked at Phoebe, searching her face for answers. "His hands are boiling hot." She murmured, now suddenly fascinated by the Goth.

Felix let her go instantly, taking a few steps back and walking right into Jake. Without any kind of warning, his hands suddenly started to glow bright orange, and a ball of fire was produced from thin air. His face fell, as did all of ours. He struggled to control it, his arms shaking as he tried to diminish the heat.

"Felix, get a grip." Jake warned, taking my hand and pulling me behind him in order to protect me from any flying flames.

"I'm trying!"

By then, it was too late. Just as he spoke the words, the ball of fire was sent hurling toward a small shrub only a few feet from where we were standing. The whole thing caught fire in a matter of seconds, and so Jake quickly rushed to find the nearest hose. Sam and I stared, completely dumbstruck, at the scene before us as Jake put out the fire.

Felix looked between us, his eyes wide with fear. "I'm sorry." His voice cracked as he mumbled, and I was worried he was about to burst into tears. I rushed to him, slipping an arm around his waist to take him away from the two sisters. As we started down the slight hill, Phoebe's demands for us to leave were heard. I watched as Felix stared down at his hands, afraid to move them in case of any further accidents.

A tear rolled down his cheek, but he didn't move to wipe it away.

"Hey, it's okay." I assured him, bringing my own hand up to remove the tear with my thumb. He looked at me, his eyes brimming with tears. I left my hand around his waist and brought my other to his stomach, essentially hugging him. "You're okay, Felix."

The other two caught up fast, not really knowing what to say. There was nothing we could say, we just had to get Felix calm and keep him safe.