SpellShocked (SpellShocked Saga: Book 1)

Chapter 20 - Lakeshore

Hunter led us through the woods for about ten minutes and absolutely refused to tell me where we were going despite me asking him multiple times. "It's a surprise!" was all he would say in response. Just when I had resigned myself to walking in silence, he said, "Here we are."

We stepped out of the treeline and my breath caught in my throat. In front of us was a large, shimmering lake. The lake was shaped like semi-circle and had crystal clear waters, so much so I could see fish swimming around inside. The curved edge of the lake was closest to us, and the flat edge met what appeared to be the side of the island; I could hear the water cascading off of the edge and down to the ocean below.

"I love this place,' Hunter almost whispered, "I'm not sure how many people even know this is here – not many people like hiking through the woods in their free time I guess – but I've never seen anyone else here when I've visited." I pulled my gaze from the beauty of the lake and looked at Hunter. He was smiling but softly, almost sadly. That same look I had noticed in Madame Thornton's class was in his eyes again. There was a sadness about him that seemed to clash with his normal happy demeanour.

"It's always so peaceful here," he continued, "I like coming here, sitting by the lake and just...getting away from it all sometimes, you know?" I did know, I felt that way so often, especially over the last few months. "I thought this place might do the same for you; help you get away from all this strangeness and just exist peacefully for a while."

I could feel myself tearing up; I couldn't believe this complete stranger was being so kind to me. He didn't know me, but he still took me all the way out here, to his special place, just to make me feel better.

"Hunter I-," I choked, "J-just...th-thank you..."

He smiled softly, "Anytime. Want to go lie by the lake for a while?"

"Y-yeah, sure." I followed him to a flat rock on the edge of the lake where he lay on his back, hands behind his head. I copied him a second later, feeling awkward about how close we were to each other on the small rock. Hunter didn't seem to mind. I didn't put my hands behind my head, choosing instead to fold them over my stomach so that I didn't accidentally end up bumping elbows with him.

I did feel awkward with the silence at first, but as I felt the heat from the sun on my front, and from the warm rock on my back, heard the gentle splashing of the water, and the chirping of birds, I began to feel more at ease. It was peaceful here like Hunter had said, and I felt some of the tension leave my body as we lay there, side by side.

"I'm gonna guess you don't like talking about yourself very much, am I right?" Hunter said quietly after a while.

Some of the tension returned as I wondered where he was going with this. "N-no...no-not really. Why?"

"Well I was gonna ask you to tell me a little about yourself. I usually like to know some stuff about my friends."

"Oh. Um. I g-guess that's okay," I agreed, feeling like it couldn't be too hard to talk about myself a little. The only trouble was, I couldn't think of anything interesting to say.

Thankfully, Hunter took the lead and asked me questions himself. "So, what was your life like before you started spewing out magic?" he joked.

"Um...pretty n-normal, I think. I just went to s-school, came home, talked to my parents or Zac."

"Zac?" he asked inquisitively.

"H-he's my best friend...my only friend re-really..." I admitted.

"He was your only friend, you mean. Now you have me and Olivia and Az."

When I didn't respond, he said, "You don't think we're really your friends, do you?" He didn't sound upset or angry, but his words still made me feel like shit.

I sighed, "I...it's just y-you guys don't really know me."

"True. But I like you, and I doubt you're gonna turn out to be an asshole if I get to know more about you." I resisted the urge to snort sarcastically from the sheer irony of that sentence. If only he knew that I was gay, they'd probably dump me back where they found me; scared and alone in a school I didn't understand.

"Tell you what," he said when I didn't respond, "Why don't I tell you a secret about myself?"

"But...why?" I asked, confused.

"Because hopefully that'll help prove to you that I'm serious about wanting to be your friend. I wouldn't tell just anyone this. Hell, the only other people who knows everything are Maya, Az and Olivia."

I'll admit, my curiosity was piqued. And the idea that he was willing to share something personal with me to prove he wanted to be friends with me...well, I thought that was a really sweet offer.

"O-Okay. Wh-what's the secret?"

"Okay. Just promise you won't tell anyone? I'm not ashamed of it really, I just don't want everyone to know and treat me differently, and I feel like you wouldn't."

"I promise, I'd never t-tell anyone. I won't judge you either."

"Thanks, Charlie,' he smiled weakly, that sadness still present just under the surface. He took a deep breath and let it audibly out before speaking. "When I was two years old my dad was shot. He was murdered for the eighty real in his wallet; that's about twenty dollars. A man lost his life, a wife lost her husband and two children lost their father, all for the sake of twenty freakin dollars."

"Oh god, Hunter...that's horrible," I gasped.

"It was," he agreed, "But not for the reasons you'd think. I was only two years old, Charlie, so I didn't know him, not really. I don't know what he looked like, or who he was as a person. I'm angry that I never got to know him more than the fact he was taken away from me."

"But I'm more upset about everything that happened after that. After he died, my mom moved us to Ohio illegally. We lived in a shitty house because she couldn't get a well-paid job, you know, because we were illegal immigrants and pay had to be all 'under the table'. She always seemed to have enough money for alcohol and drugs though."

"She was an addict. She could barely get to work never mind look after us. So, when she just disappeared one day when we were twelve and we were forced to live on the streets, we were well adapted to taking care of ourselves. The only reason we're not still living on the streets now is because we Awakened our Gifts when we were about fourteen, and the Council came for us. We've been living with various members of the Council in Atheline every summer ever since."

"Hunter, I'm so sorry. Damn, you've had it so rough." I didn't really know what to say to him, but he turned to look at me and smiled gently.

"It was hard, don't get me wrong, but I think it made me a stronger person. But still...sometimes it's hard not to feel alone or abandoned...or like I'm not good enough." That explained his reaction to Madame Thornton's scalding earlier today; it must have brought back those insecurities of inadequacy. It's how I felt whenever someone was upset with me.

"I think I'm lucky, Charlie. I could still be living on the streets with no education or money, no chance to get out of my situation. I'm so grateful for what everyone has done for me. It's why I love that I'm a necromancer; I want to help people, just like how people helped me, saved me." He sighed deeply, "I just want to heal the world, Charlie. Is that stupid?"

He was leaning on his elbows now, watching the orange of the setting sun from the edge of the island, the glow reflecting off of the water and bathing him in fiery light. He was beautiful, especially now with the sunlight glaring down on him. But more than that, the beauty of who he was as a person outshone his physical beauty by a mile.

And now I knew he meant what he said when he told me he wanted to be my friend. Hunter had every reason to be bitter and resentful for what he'd been through, but he took his pain and made it into something beautiful, using it to help people. I knew I could trust him to be my friend and now...I really wanted to be his.

"I don't think it's stupid at all. I think it's amazing."

When he smiled – a full, honest smile – I knew in my heart that, for only the second time in my life, I had made a true friend.