That is a lot of empty space.
Here's more.....
Enjoy.
Chapter Fifteen
Stitch's words reverberated on the walls around me, making the walk almost haunting. I tried to glance over my shoulder at Stitch, but Cam bent down to whisper more.
“Now, I'd love not to have to guess this time, so can you give me some hints about what you like to do.” he said, smiling. “This date needs to be spectacular after all.”
“Oh,” I looked at him, forgetting Stitch for a moment. “I like anything outdoors. I don't know what there is to do around here, so I'm sure whatever you have planned will be great anyway!”
He squeezed my side, rubbing his hand up and down against my waist and tugging me into him. I put my arm around his waist, drawing him into a sideways hug, and strangely enough, I felt his lips against the top of my head. I blushed, drawing away quickly, but his hand stayed around my waist. I glanced over my shoulder at Stitch and noticed his eyes narrowed at us. I cocked my head sideways slightly, hoping to grab his attention, but to no avail. He extracted his phone from the depths of his pocket and quickly put it to his ear. I turned my face away, but kept my attention glued on his phone call.
“Hey, Leo,” he said, his voice strangely contrasting the sour look he had given us moments before. “You wouldn't happen to be around this week, would you?” He paused for a long time, listening to the voice on the other end of the call. “Great, well I need to see you soon.... yes, its for the exact reason you think. Is Cael around?....Figured he would be out with his girl. Yeah, leave it to him to keep her safe. It's like he doesn't trust us or something, but I wouldn't blame him. Sometimes we slip up.” He laughed heartily for a while. “I know, I know. He's probably better for the job anyway. But I do need to see you both before the end of this week. I'm going out of town... With some friends from school. We're going to Florida... Yes, like in the United States. Why? Laela, she's a... newer addition to the circle, and we're going back to her house next week since we don't have school. Kitty's mom is paying, bless her heart. Yeah, I'll be in touch...”
I glanced back at Stitch. He was smiling now. I wondered who he was talking with. Probably another old friend, but what was he referring to when he asked about Cael? Is his “girl” in trouble? Why would they have to protect her? My mind raced with questions, and just as I was burying them, Stitch hung up, giving me the opportunity to spring at him.
“Who was that?” I asked, staring at him over my shoulder.
He glanced up at me, surprised, as if seeing me standing there for the first time. “Oh... no one. Just a friend.” he said quickly, looking away to signal that the conversation had ended.
I felt my chest deflate, and my heart rate drop. His eyes darkened slightly while he looked at me, giving another signal that the conversation wouldn't be going any further than it had. I gave a weak smile, shrugging and noticed Kitty raise her shoulders in a shrug, staring at me to say “I don't understand either.” While we walked, people stopped Kitty right and left, asking about how her family was doing, and why they hadn't seen her mom around lately. She politely answered each of them, giving them short answers that didn't really get to the heart of the question. When we had reached the end of the stores, Kitty stopped us.
“Hang on, I've gotta run in here and see if Jen is around. My mom wanted me to tell her something.” she said, glancing thought the glass windows. “I'll be quick.”
She kissed Jay's cheek before dashing into the store, leaving us out in the quieting square. We settled into a corner, taking our place on a bench, saying very little. Everyone kept quiet glancing up and down the street. With a yawn, I stared up at the rosy sky. There were streaks of blues and purples mixed with bright pinks and oranges gently swirled together with wispy clouds. As I admired the sky, I heard a familiar voice calling to us from down the street.
“Hey guys! Fancy seeing you here!”
I looked down and noticed Daniel trotting down the street holding several bags in his hands. There was another person behind him, trying to keep up. When Daniel finally stopped in front of us, the tag-a-long caught up. It was a younger girl, white blonde curly hair with bright orange bangs. She looked slightly breathless as she pushed her curls out of her face. She smiled, her blue eyes sparkling.
“Hey Daniel,” I said, sitting up straight, smiling at the boy. “What are you doing out here?”
He raised his bags. “Shopping, duh.” he said.
I glanced at the girl. “Who's this?” I motioned to her with my chin, smiling.
“Oh, my name is Jayne. I'm Daniel's sister. You must be friends from school, right?” she said, smiling at us again.
We nodded, and muttered 'yeses.'
“What are you guys doing here?” Daniel glanced around, his eyes resting on Stitch. “Especially you, I would expect to find you sketching on the riverside this time of night. I mean, that's where I've found you before.”
Stitch chuckled. “This is true, but we're taking Laela to all our favorite places before we go back to Florida with her.” he replied.
Daniel's jaw dropped. “You're all going to Florida?! Why, when?”
“Next week since we don't have school.” Jay spoke up.
“We... oh yes, we don't have school. My family is going to Brussels to visit our grandparents.”
“Your family is from Belgium?” I asked.
Both Daniel and Jayne nodded. They looked almost like twins.
“So, Daniel,” Cam said, “You and Jayne are.... twins?”
The two of them laughed. “Nope,” Daniel said, glancing at his sister. “She's younger than me by two years. Don't worry though, everyone thinks we're twins. Maybe we should just start saying yes.”
I looked back at Daniel and Jayne, admiring their hair, and wishing again that I could dye my hair. “Hey, so the hair...” I said hesitantly, drawing attention from everyone. “You think we could get something with mine done before the end of the week?”
Daniel's face lit up. “Oh my gosh, yes! I'm sure Liam would be happy to get you in. What color are you thinking?”
“I... I don't know. I've never really done anything with my hair before. It's always been black. What color would you recommend?”
He raised his hand to his chin, stroking it thoughtfully. He looked at his sister for a moment, and then back at me.
“How daring are you? I was thinking teal or.... lavender.” he said.
I smiled. “Teal would be nice.”
“Sweet! I think Liam has some openings Thursday if that works for you.”
I agreed as Kitty came bounding back out of the store, holding another bag. She mentioned it was for her mom, and then greeted Daniel and Jayne, somehow knowing her. After chatting for a moment, we all made our way out of the Seven Dials district. After we had exited the island of buildings, Daniel and Jayne went their own way, leaving us alone again. Cam slung his arm around my waist again, making me uncomfortable. I didn't understand his need to constantly have his arm around me. It was, however, comforting to feel someone's arms around me, even if they were unwanted. We walked for a while, down another shopping district when another voice called out to us, but this time calling Cam's name. Cam turned, halting me with him.
He glanced down the street and smiled before I could even tell who he was looking at. A tall blond boy stepped out of a shop, waving at him. Cam waved back.
“Hey man, what are you doing out here?” Cam asked.
The boy stepped into the lamplight of the shop. It was Vance. He approached us slowly, his eyes never leaving me. He looked me up and down, his lips curling into a half smile, bordering on the lines of a smirk. He ran his hand through his shaggy blonde hair, casually stepping up. Kitty stepped up to my side, playfully glaring at Vance.
“What are you doing here, Vance.” she asked pointedly.
He looked at her, smiling. “Ouch, that was a little sharp, don't you think?” he sighed. Suddenly there was a pair of arms snaking around his waist. “I'm not here alone.”
The owner of the arms stepped around him and curled herself into his arms. She was a sultry looking red headed girl with long curly hair. She had fair skin and bright lavender eyes. She pressed herself into him, standing up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. My stomach knotted up, seeing the girl with her arms around him.
“I've just been out here shopping with Loraine.” he said nonchalantly, slinking his hand down her back dangerously low. “Most of the afternoon actually. How long have you been out here?”
“We've been out here for a few hours. Shopping.” Cam said, smiling at me.
“Shopping,” Stitch laughed, stepping up in Kitty's place next to me. He continued laughing heartily, his hand on his stomach, and the other running through his hair. “With Loraine?” he put his hand down, his knuckles brushing against mine.
My skin flared. I glanced up at him; he wasn't looking at me, instead his eyes were locked on Vance, glaring at him. The street grew silent, and the sounds of the world seemed to fade away. Stitch and Vance sneered at each other, their lips curling into growls. Suddenly Stitch's eyes locked onto the red-head, and he gave her a quick once over and then chuckled.
“Quite the step down for you, Vance” Stitch chuckled, giving the girl another once over. “Couldn't find anyone quite like her, could you? So you settled. Not very well either.”
Vance's lip curled, exposing his gleaming white teeth. He puffed his chest out, growling. Loraine clenched her hand tightly on his shirt, struggling to keep him from lashing out at Stitch. I looked at Stitch, amazed by his words. I couldn't believe he would say something like that about her. Especially while she was standing right there. Stitch smirked.
Vance's glare softened as he hugged Loraine tighter to him. “Seems we're both stuck,” Vance purred, “You can't seem to get her back either.”
His gaze flickered to me for a moment. I felt Stitch shake with rage next to me. Vance's eyes narrowed and his lips curled into a smirk. I felt Stitch's fist clench, his knuckles pressing against mine. I looked up at him; his emerald eyes were dark, and stygian, his expression even more so. Vance smirked victoriously, rubbing Loraine's back slowly as if to prove a point. Stitch stepped forward, his body stiff and humming with rage. I feared something terrible would happen, and tried to step forward to grab the back of Stitch's shirt, but Cam's arm tightened around my waist. Just as Vance's grip on Loraine's body loosened, Kitty jumped forward, her hand tightly gripping his shoulder, her fingertips pressing into his skin. She glared up at him, a motherly sort of warning in her eyes.
“Let's all keep our heads about us.” she said, “We wouldn't want another incident.”
Vance chuckled, glancing at Kitty. “You better listen to Kitten, she's right.” he mused.
Kitty turned her steely glare at him. “Don't you ever call me Kitten. I hate that name.”
Her grip tightened dangerously on Stitch's shoulder, and a chill breeze blew through the area. My head started to ache as if someone were pressing tightly on the sides of my skull. My vision blurred, and I could see through the haze the people around me, but they seemed to be from a different time all together. It was as if I were living in two times, and suddenly it was gone as Cam released me, stepping forward between the boys. He looked back and forth between them, his eyes narrow, his lips in a straight line. He kept his expression even, asserting his presence between the two, and giving them the signal to drop everything, and back off. Vance ignored Cam completely, stepping forward, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. His blue eyes clouded over darkly, and seemed to almost glow a deep crimson. I stepped back, those eyes. Those haunting crimson eyes. I had seen them before in my dreams. Cam pressed his hand on Vance's shoulder and the red was gone. Kitty stepped in front of Stitch and began to shove him in the direction of the entrance to the tube, and the rest of us followed. Kitty stepped in front of Stitch, who had fallen behind, but was still there, brooding quietly.
As we walked away, Vance shouted, “Your mask is slipping, Stitch. Remember, though they may say there's no art to finding the mind's construction on the face, I can see yours.”
I froze. My heart began to race, and my vision blurred as I turned to look back at Vance. Stitch suddenly stepped into my view as the fire began deep within my body. I started breathing heavily, and for a moment I couldn't see anything. Open your eyes. I heard a voice tell me. Fluttering my eyes open I saw Stitch, standing before me, his hand lightly brushing my cheek. The fire was gone. Cam's arm slipped around my waist again, and I turned to walk away. After several quiet moments, I turned to look back at Stitch, but he and Vance had both vanished from view. We were the only ones on the street. They were gone.
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