A/N - Sorry, for the delay! This chapter somehow turned into two!!
I'm publishing the first part now (at the Academy) and then the next part (back to the mission) next week.
This chapter also turned out to be really, really complicated (but enlightening!) I had to fight for every word. It was like chipping away at a block of marble to let the statue (the narrative in this case) come through. ARGH! It was tough but I love it!
I hope you love it too!
~ Paula
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Inez and Cameron are sitting at a table in the middle of the academy courtyard, eating lunch and studying. While Aidan is away on his mission, Headmaster Pierce has given them an assignment to work on, largely focused on honing their Minor Magic skills so they don't get rusty.
However, instead of studying, they're procrastinating.
Cameron-having finally earned Inez's forgiveness for trying to interfere with her and Jake's newfound friendship-feels entirely at ease with her again, the tension between them having dissipated. At one point, he even leans over and points out something in his book that makes Inez squeal, then throw her head back and laugh.
Jake, who's standing in the dining hall doorway leading out to the courtyard sees this-the two of them together, getting along so well-and feels the sharp pang of envy sucker punch him in the gut.
He leans his head back against the cold stone of the archway and sighs.
For the past twenty minutes, he'd been scouring the campus, looking for Inez. He's got a one-on-one scheduled with Master Achebe to discuss his studying habits (apparently, Master Achebe has already had his little chat with Cameron and Sebastian), but Jake's appointment got pushed back an hour.
So, with time to kill, he thought he'd track Inez down and return the Harry Potter book she'd read to him in the infirmary, but left behind for him to finish. He was also hoping that he could use the book as a pretext, or at least an opportunity, to spend some quality time with her... alone.
But finding her and Cameron hanging out like this has thrown a major wrench into his plans.
And it's only made worse by the fact that, in some ways, they look really good together, they just fit, interacting so naturally and amiably, like two friends who've known each other all their lives. And even if their relationship was only platonic, it physically hurts to see the intimacy between them, see them laughing and joking so comfortably together.
Frowning, Jake considers turning back because the last thing he wants to be is a third wheel, especially to-of all people-Cameron.
But after giving it some more thought, he realizes that while he may not be able to hang out with Inez as he'd planned, by going to the trouble of returning her book, at least it lets her know that he's thinking about her. Okay, sure, it's a tiny gesture, but it's still a meaningful one because, seriously, whoever bothers to return a book they've borrowed from a friend?
Jake sucks in a deep breath, mutters a few encouraging words to himself-carpe diem and all that-and then continues to make his way over to the table.
As he approaches them, his mouth goes dry, and his heart begins to pound so fiercely it feels like it's gonna pound right out of his chest.
Gods! Why is he feeling this way? Why does he always feel so unsettled around her?
As Jake gets closer to the table, he suddenly recalls his conversation with Ava, earlier that day. He can hear her cautioning him to tread carefully and not get too attached to Inez. Just give her the book and leave. Otherwise, hanging around her for much longer than that, especially with Cameron there, is just asking for trouble.
Before he knows it, Jake's in the middle of the courtyard, standing behind Inez. She's leaning back in her chair, her arms resting on her stomach and her legs kicked out beneath the table.
Barely acknowledging Cameron, Jake reaches out and gently taps Inez on the shoulder. And when she turns around and sees that it's him, her face lights up like Christmas, with a smile so radiant that for a second, Jake can't breathe.
Caught off guard, he swallows the lump in his throat, gulps in air, and then manages to smile back at her without looking too ridiculous.
"Hey," he says softly.
"Hey," Inez replies, pushing her chair back and standing so they can speak, face-to-face.
As they stare into each other's eyes, they seem to have momentarily forgotten about Cameron, who's still there, watching all of this go down. He's irritated by the interruption. But since he'd promised Inez he wouldn't interfere again, all he can do is roll his eyes, lean back in his chair, and glower.
"I, uh..." Jake says to Inez, stammering a bit, unnerved by Cameron witnessing his complete lack of game. "Um... I just wanted to return your Harry Potter book to you," he says awkwardly as he hands the book over to her.
Beaming, Inez takes it from him and clutches it to her chest. "In our last class," she says, "you mentioned that you'd finished the entire book, so..." she drawls out her question as she takes another step closer to him, "...what did you think?"
"Uh..." Jake stalls as his mind goes blank. He wasn't prepared to discuss the book with her, even though he did enjoy it.
He sucks in a long, slow breath, suddenly feeling a bit off-kilter, light-headed, and weak in the knees.
But when Inez looks up at him earnestly, her eyes sparkling with genuine curiosity, a sense of warmth spreads through him so completely that it propels his tight, polite smile into a decidedly goofy grin.
Inez grins back at him, her smile just as goofy as his.
Okay, now he's feeling dizzy and he doesn't know why. Is it nerves? Is he ill? His brain scrambles for a cause.
And then it occurs to him. When Inez took a step forward, she ended up standing less than a foot away from him. And, as a Shifter, this kind of proximity is very, very dangerous. With his heightened sense of smell, he can pick up the crisp fresh scent of her soap, the subtle floral fragrance of her shampoo, a tiny hint of baby powder, and well... her!
And her scent is intoxicating!
But as alluring as she smells, her scent is also wreaking havoc on all of his senses, not just his primary one. It's wreaking havoc in other places too, but he can't think about that now.
And after a long moment passes with them standing there, perfectly still, silently staring at each other with dopey expressions on their faces, Cameron decides he's had enough.
He clears his throat as he stands, breaking the lovebirds' spell.
Then without a word, he begins to pack up his books and laptop, avoiding making eye contact with either Jake or Inez.
Truth be told, it's taking all of his willpower to bite his tongue and keep quiet, forcing him to clamp down on his urge to start questioning Jake in order to suss out his true intentions.
It's not as if he dislikes Jake, or even sees him as a true rival for Inez's attention. It's just that, amongst his kind, Shifters have a well-known reputation of being... well, shifty. And he doesn't know yet if Jake is a player or if he genuinely cares about Inez.
In either case, he knows when he's not wanted, and it's crystal clear to him that these two are having a moment, which means it's time for him to go. Inez is a big girl; she can take care of herself.
Both Jake and Inez watch as Cameron packs, but Inez seems baffled by his sudden desire to leave.
And when Jake catches Cameron's gaze and sees the sharp flicker of annoyance in his eyes, he gets it. That coupled with Ava's warning still playing in his head, forces him to accept the inevitable. He has to stop.
No matter how much he would like to get closer to Inez, he just can't do this. He can't lead her on. She's an Enchanted, which means that, in the end, they can never be together. So, why is he flirting with her? Why is he encouraging any kind of friendship with her, other than what's necessary for them to get along?
Suddenly, Jake takes a giant step backwards, putting some distance between them. Avoiding her gaze, he coughs into his fist and clears his throat. It's time to nip this--whatever it is blooming between them--in the bud.
He shakes his head, clearing away the fog, and says to Inez, "I'm sorry. What was the question again?"
Inez furrows a brow, thrown off by the sudden shift in the energy between them. "Oh, um. I'd asked you what you thought of the book?" She repeats her question from earlier.
"Meh..." Jake gives her an indifferent shrug. "It was alright," he says, keeping his voice flat and disinterested.
In response, Inez blinks rapidly, thoroughly confused by this. "Oh, that's surprising," she says softly. "I got the impression that you were really enjoying the story, at least while I was reading it to you."
He lifts his hands to his shoulders and says with an awkward chuckle, "Yeah, well, captive audience, right?"
The minute the words leave his mouth, his stomach churns, his body tenses, and he feels like a complete and utter ass.
Inez, dumbstruck, doesn't respond. Instead, she stands there, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open in shock. Okay, she did not see that one coming, at least not from Jake.
This wasn't the Jake she'd come to know back in the infirmary. Why was he being so mean to her? Maybe Cameron was right after all? Maybe their budding friendship wasn't real like she'd thought? Maybe it was just a matter of circumstance?
Jake, seeing the look on Inez's face, is mortified by what he's done. Having to hurt her feelings like this is killing him.
Cameron's steely gaze, boring into him right now, isn't helping the situation either.
Jake struggles to breathe. His eyes close as he internally beats himself up for being such a douche.
Yes, he knows he has to push her away, but there's no way he can leave it like this.
He rubs the back of his neck, then after a beat, opens his eyes, and says, "But, hey, you know that Harry kid? He was actually really cool!" Still drowning in agony, he forces a smile.
"You think so?" Inez's face brightens, just a little.
"Yeah." Jake says, his voice softer now. "I really wasn't expecting it, but... I don't know, I kinda see a bit of myself in him."
"Really?" Inez tilts her head, trying to make sense of this complicated boy standing before her.
After a moment, she bites her lip and takes a chance. "You know, I have tons of books in my room, both fiction and nonfiction. You can come by anytime and check them out--" She pauses, shakes her head, and giggle-snorts. "Sorry. That didn't come out right. What I meant to say is that you can check the books out to see if there's something that interests you, not check them out, like from a library." She rolls her eyes and giggle-snorts again.
Jake's forced smile slides right back into a goofy grin, and he curses himself.
Damn it! He can't help himself. He can't help acting like this whenever he's around her. She's so adorable!
But then, Jake looks over at Cameron, who is now staring daggers at him, and Jake's walls go right back up again. He's being an idiot. This-her and him-this can never happen.
"Nah, that's okay," Jake says. "I'm really not much of a reader. But, um... thanks for the offer." He looks down at the watch he's not wearing and says, "Look, I gotta go." He starts to back away from her. "I'm supposed to meet Ava at the gym. So, I guess I'll see you around, okay?" He points at her in that sleazy car salesman way, then gives her a half-hearted wave, turns around, and makes a beeline right out of the courtyard.
Inez, still inexplicably waving, watches him go. "Okay... um, see you around," she says, her voice fading since there's no way he can still hear her.
Perplexed, sad, and desperately trying to process what just happened, Inez reluctantly goes back to the table and plops down in her chair.
She rests her arms on the table, then drops her head onto her arms. "That was awful!" she groans. "I can't believe that happened," she cries out, but her voice is muffled, so when she doesn't hear a response from Cameron, she lifts her head, looks at him, and essentially repeats herself. "That was awful, don't you think?"
Cameron, who has no clue how to respond to the trainwreck he'd just witnessed, sucks a sharp breath in through his teeth, and then scrunches his face up in sympathetic agony.
Inez groans again. She covers her face with her hands, and then after wallowing a bit, she looks up at Cameron, who's still wearing that sympathetically pained expression.
Inez points a finger at him as she shoots him an admonishing glare. "Don't say it," she says, her eyes narrowing in warning.
Cameron lifts his shoulders and spreads his hands. "Say what?"
"Don't say, 'I told you so.'" Inez grumbles, pouting and pointing at him.
"Hey!" Cameron dons his most innocent expression. "I wasn't gonna say a thing."
Inez looks at him suspiciously. "But you were thinking it, weren't you?"
Cameron looks up at the sky and clamps his lips together tightly, avoiding her gaze because yeah... he was totally thinking it.
Shoulders slumped, Inez lets out a forlorn moan as she starts to pull her stuff together and shove it all into her book bag.
After a few minutes, she stops, slides her glasses up her nose, and stares out into the distance, still looking bewildered and perturbed.
She looks at Cameron keenly and opens her mouth as if she's about to ask him a question, then she pauses, reconsiders, and definitively changes her mind.
Instead, she begins muttering to herself as she collects the last of her stuff-something about being naïve and she should have known better.
Cameron, who's been watching her the whole time, can't take it anymore. Wounded puppies never looked so sad.
So, he sighs as he gets up, walks around the table, and then sits down in the chair next to Inez. He scoots closer to her, and without a word, extends his arm and pats it on the inside, essentially offering her a shoulder to cry on.
She leans into him as he gives her a brotherly hug, letting her rest her head on his shoulder for as long as she needs.
Comforting her like this, Cameron starts to experience a mix of emotions.
On the one hand, watching Jake reject Inez like that kinda broke his heart, especially since the chemistry between them was palpable, and if they'd been alone, it would probably be off the charts.
But on the other hand, he's right here, ready and willing to take their relationship further, anytime she wants. At one point in time, he was certain that was going to happen. They have chemistry too, so why not?
Although, when he's honest with himself, their chemistry is kind of tepid compared to what he witnessed between her and Jake.
And although, his go-to move would be to figure out how to finagle this moment and turn it to his advantage-maybe even find a way to become her knight in shining armor, here to rescue her from her heartache.
But, that doesn't feel right.
Because what Inez really needs right now is a friend--a friend who could offer her empathy without judgment or expectation.
Given this, Cameron tamps down on any other urges he might be feeling towards her and vows to limit his support to a comforting side-hug, a sympathetic ear, and as many encouraging words as he could think of.