Magic and Mishaps (Hiatus)

Chapter 2

Jason left my house at around 6 pm. He'd been over for about 2 hours. I made him promise to buy a tuxedo. Or rent one, for all I cared. As long as he was prepped for the ball, I was fine with it. He grudgingly agreed to rent a tuxedo, and I told him I'd find him a date. I didn't even have a date, but I vowed to get him one. This thought dwarfed my mind. Jason deserved this. He was an awesome dude. It wouldn't be hard finding him a date. He was handsome. Not the overly exaggerated jock handsome- no- he was adorable in his own way. But the most attractive part of his character was his attitude. He was kind. Incredibly kind. I know that he wouldn't hesitate to aid me if I was in need of help. He puts his friends and family before him, that's for sure. But the problem was that Jason wasn't exactly romantic...

He also had a really good sense of humor. He could make you laugh involuntarily.  I loved that about him. That's why he was one of my closest friends. He was like an overprotective older brother to me.

He was like... like....

"Esme? You in there?" called my older brother, Jacob, from the other side of my bedroom door

I stood up, pushed away those thoughts, and opened the door for Jacob. He grinned at me and leaned against the threshold.

"When did your boyfriend leave, eh?" teased Jacob.

I punched him on the arm and glared at him. "Shut up, Jake. He absolutely is not my boyfriend. He's like my brother. Come on-"

Jacob raised his hands defensively and stared at me strangely. "Okay, okay, I get it. He isn't your boyfriend.. Chill," Jacob said.

I blushed. "Yeah... so what do you want?" I asked, ashamed.

Jacob grinned from ear to ear. "Just calling you over for dinner," he shrugged and turned on his heel and left.

I rolled my eyes and followed him out, firmly shutting my door on the way out.

                          .......................

Dinner was fairly normal.

"Would you pass the salt, dork?" Jacob asked me from across the table.

I reached over and grabbed the salt. "Of course, idiot," I emulated, smiling mock-kindly. He received it with a roll of his hazel eyes, the same color as my own.

Mom reprimanded us, as always, while Dad simply watched with a careful stare.

"Kids..." she said carefully.

I shut mouth, not wanting to upset Mom.

I always thought that I looked more like dad, and Jacob like mom. I had Dad's black, wavy hair and thin nose. I had his deathly pale skin. The only difference was that my dad had blue eyes, and I had hazel eyes.

Jacob had mom's brown hair, hazel eyes, and refined nose. He was always considered handsome at school. I was a barely-noticed skater girl. That was my clique. The rebel clique. Jacob's was the popular clique. He could be considered a jock.

I sighed and stood after I finished eating my spaghetti. I tucked a lock of my waist long dark brown hair behind my ear, and picked up my dishes, heading over to the sink to wash them.

"So how was your day?" I heard Mom ask Jacob from the kitchen.

"Great, actually. I asked Stacey to the Winter Ball, and she said yes," said Jacob.

I rolled my eyes at that. Stacey was, of course, capitan of the varsity cheerleaders.

I heard the smile on my Mom's face as she congratulated him.

I sighed and washed my hands once I finished washing my dishes.  I didn't even hope to find a date. I'd never find a date.

Later that night, I spent a great deal of my time doing home work. Even though I was tired, I found that I had to study for a test if I wanted to pass Geometry. I was on level for my grade- 10th grade. Jason was a few months older than me. We were both sixteen, but my birthday had just passed. His birthday was on July 27th, and mine on November 14th.

Just as I was finishing up my homework, a weird noise came from outside my window. It was as if someone was scraping something heavy across the street. I jerked up into a sitting position and immediately got up to see what it was. Hugging myself, I walked over to my window and parted the shades, opening them just enough to peek through them.

It was all dark outside, since it was already 9:30 pm. There was no moon, nor stars, and the clouds appeared to be packed heavy with an on coming blizzard. The street lamps were on, and I caught sight of the retreating back of a boy, heading deeper into the street. He was tall and wore a large black hoodie, the hood obscuring his face. He stopped walking, as if he felt my gaze on him. He craned his neck to the side and turned to look.

And I swear, he was looking straight at me.