Our Own House | Closed.

Artemis was a little surprised by Johnny’s story but at the same time found that it made sense. She bit down on her bottom lip when Johnny asked about her and Jimmy. She wasn’t sure if Jimmy liked the story of how they met. She knew it was embarrassing for a merman but wasn’t sure if it was embarrassing for Jimmy. “Someone tried to throw water on him,” Artemis stated. “I stood between Jimmy and the water, hit completely soaked and told off the pixies who had decided to do it.” She looked at Jimmy and smiled. “We’ve been best friends ever since.”

“If he tried to get in my face again I would,” Brian admitted. He stared down at his hands, his jaw clenched when she asked what he had done to upset him. “They were picking on my friend,” he stated. “Johnny already gets enough shit for being what he is without some stupid jocks joining in.” He looked at Fae, trying to get a read of what she was but he couldn’t seem to place what exactly she was. “What are you,” he asked.

Johnny smiled slightly. She sounded like a really kind soul, which was what he liked in a friend. “That was really nice of you,” he said. “He’s lucky to have someone like you. I’m guessing you like to try and keep the peace around here. Stepping in front of the water, and then breaking up that fight earlier.”

Fae frowned. If they really had been making fun of Brian’s friend, then she could understand why he’d been so upset. “I’m a fairy,” she stated. “My family used to be part of the Seelie Court but we migrated away and settled with a group of fairies that preferred solitary.” She looked over at the window, where a plant sat on the windowsill, slowly dying from dehydration. She raised her hand and gently sent a wave of pixie dust towards the plant, smiling as she watched it come back to life.

“I think you’re the first fairy I’ve seen in like ten years,” Brian stated. “The last one was a friend with my little sister before she moved.” He adjusted the way he was sitting in his seat so he was turned completely to face and talk to Fae. “Is it normal for you guys to move around a lot,” he asked.

“I don’t like violence,” Artemis stated. “Especially unnecessary violence like that fight.” She couldn’t explain why she hated violence so much but seeing someone getting hurt was really the only time she found herself getting angry. “I think the only thing that really gets me angry is violence,” she mumbled. “I know it’s silly but that’s how I’ve always been.”

Johnny shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think it’s silly,” he said. “It makes sense. Anyone who likes violence probably isn’t a good person. I know people tend to stereotype and group people together based on what being they are, but not all demons are bad, you know. Brian’s a good guy, deep down. Most of the time. And I’m assuming that wolf is probably a good guy too.”

Fae looked back at him and nodded slightly. “Occasionally,” she said. “It depends on what type of fairy it is, or the family, I guess. There are good fairies and there are bad fairies. There’s the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. The Seelie Court consists of the more friendly types of fairies where the Unseelie Court has the more unfriendly ones. Those fairies can be very dangerous. They like to harm people.”

Brian nodded, getting a feeling the fairy court was similar to the way angels and demons were. “Sounds like how demons and angels work,” he stated. If it really was like that Brian would definitely find it ironic he found a good fairy attractive and found himself wanting to spend more time with her.

“I always hope there’s good in everyone but if they aren’t good I’m not upset,” Artemis admitted. She had been through very traumatic and bad things growing up because she was human. She had a few visible scars on her body because of it even. When she felt Jimmy give her hand a light squeeze she gave his hand a light squeeze back. Jimmy knew of her past and besides her parents he was the only one.

Johnny nodded. “There will always be bad in the world, unfortunately,” he said. He noticed how her demeanor changed in almost an instant, his brows furrowing slightly. “Are you okay? Did I say something to upset you? I didn’t mean to.”

“Similar,” Fae said. “I mean, all fairies like to play pranks on humans and other beings, but the bad ones take it way too far. I would never want to harm anyone.” She bit her lip, not believing she was opening herself up to a demon. Why was she even telling him all these things? She didn’t even know him. “So, uh, it must be natural for you to want to harm people as well, then.”

“It’s part of my nature but I don’t run around hurting people,” Brian replied. “I’m more than just a stereotype for demons.” He knew what he said would probably shock her but it was the truth to him. He didn’t want people to assume they knew him once they found out what he was. “So how good are you at pranks,” he asked.

Artemis shook her head. “It wasn’t you,” she promised. “I was just thinking of some things in my past that upset me.” She bit down on her bottom lip, unsure if she should open up to Johnny. “I promise once we get closer I’ll tell you about.” She lead both boys into class, sitting in her usual spot in the back as she did.

Johnny shook his head. "I don't expect people to tell me things about themselves. And I wouldn't expect you to either," he said. He noticed the look Jimmy was giving him, as if to say it was time to break their little chat off, and he took that as his cue to sit in his seat and be to himself. It was obvious how protective Jimmy was of Artemis. Either protective or jealous.

Fae nodded her head slightly at what he said. She didn't trust him entirely, but she wasn't one to seek out the negative in people, so she would believe him until he proved her wrong. "I don't usually pull pranks," she admitted, a small blush creeping onto her freckled cheeks. "My parents raised me differently than most fairies are raised, because they wanted me to be able to blend in with everyone else in the world. They wanted me to have a normal life."

“Normal is boring though,” Brian countered. “Why be normal when you can be special?” He had never understood when supernatural beings essentially ran the world why any of them would want to blend in especially with humans. Humans were scum as far as Brian concerned, merely still on the planet to entertain him and others of his kind.

Artemis gave Jimmy a questioning look when Johnny moved to sit back in his seat. “I’m trying to get us a new friend,” she stated. “One day I may not be around anymore and you’ll need someone.” She knew it was a morbid thought to spring on the merman but it was a sad reality they both needed to face. She would age and die and he never would.

Jimmy frowned at Artemis's words, narrowing his eyes slightly at her. "That's not true," he hissed. "I told you I would find a way to change that. I meant what I said." He leaned back in his seat, staring at the back of Johnny's head as he thought to himself. He didn't mind Artemis having other friends. In fact, Fae seemed like a nice person. But he also didn't like the idea of sharing the only person in this school that he cared about, and that cared about him.

Fae raised an eyebrow at him as she studied his expression. "You're annoyed," she stated, a small smile forming on her face. She was good at reading people; it was something that came along with being so close to nature. "Do you wish your life was more fulfilling, demon?" She knew she may be stepping over a line by asking a question like that, but she also knew he would never hurt her, not while they were sitting in the middle of a room full of people.

“Maybe,” Brian shrugged. “I mean I’d rather be famous playing guitar all over the world but I’m stuck here learning shit I’ll probably never use outside of here.” It was calculus for fucks sake. Unless he went into a calculus specific field of work he would never need to know any of the crap he was learning ever again. “What about you,” he asked. “Are you happy with your life?”

Artemis frowned, hating that she had upset Jimmy. She knew losing her upset him greatly and she wanted to believe he would find a way to keep her around forever but she also to realistic to fully believe it was possible. Unless she sold her soul and because a witch she was going to age, grow old and die one day and she wasn’t prepared to make a pact with the devil for something she didn’t really want.

Jimmy glanced over at Artemis briefly, sighing softly. He wished he hadn’t snapped at her like that, but he just hated when she spoke like that. He kept his eyes on the front of the classroom as he reached his hand over to gently grab hers. He gave it a soft squeeze before releasing it. Hopefully he could actually find a way to keep her around for as long as he was alive. If he had to sell his soul or delve into black magic, it would be worth it. Even though he knew she wouldn’t want that for him.

Fae bit her lip gently as she thought about his question. “I’m content,” she lied. “I’m thankful for what I have.” She turned back in her seat so her back was facing him again, not wanting to get in trouble now that the teacher was in the classroom. She hoped he wouldn’t question her about it again. She didn’t want to relive some of the things she’d been through. And as of right now, she was okay lying to herself about her own well-being. Maybe now that she’d met Jimmy and Artemis, she wouldn’t have to lie anymore.

Brian watched Fae, not fully believing what she had told him. There was something off but he couldn’t exactly tell what. He watched as she turned her attention to the front and their teacher, sighing softly as he did the same. He would definitely try and talk to her again. He wanted to get to know her and it was rare he wanted to get to know someone more.

Artemis glanced over at Jimmy, hoping she hadn’t upset him too much. She knew he cared about her a lot and she cared about him a lot too. He was her only friend and he mattered a lot to him. She pulled out her notebook, deciding to take notes while the teacher talked, occasionally glancing over at Jimmy to make sure he was okay.

Once lunch time rolled around, Johnny had to decide if he wanted to go meet Brian, or if he wanted to go to the gym to see Artemis again. He knew Brian wouldn’t miss him for one day, so he headed to the gym, surprised to bump into Zack again. “Oh, hey,” he greeted. He spotted Matt walking towards them, hoping the wolf wasn’t mad at him for what had happened with Brian earlier that morning.

“Hey,” Zack said. He looked at Matt. “Can we all be cool? You know, no fighting?” He chuckled slightly when Matt only rolled his eyes, looking completely disinterested in joining other people to eat lunch.

Fae rounded the corner, biting her lip when she spotted Brian at his locker. She walked towards him, surprised Johnny wasn’t at his side. “Hey,” she said. “So, Artemis, the girl who interrupted your fight this morning, she invited me to have lunch with her and her friend, Jimmy. I was wondering if you wanted to come with? Maybe make some more friends?”

Brian shrugged, figuring he would give it a shot since he had a feeling Johnny would go. “Sure,” he mumbled. “I’m sure Johnny will be going and I don’t want to eat alone.” He have Fae a small smile so he knew he would play nice, hoping she believed he would because he fully intended to unless Matt started shit with him again.

Artemis sat on the benches with Jimmy, hoping Fae and everyone else showed up. She wanted Jimmy to have more friends and she knew it would be nice for her if she had more friends too. “Do you think they’ll show?” She was hoping they did but he honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t show up.

“I hope not,” Jimmy muttered under his breath, quiet enough for Artemis to not hear. He sighed as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand, waiting impatiently. He didn’t understand why Artemis had to ruin the dynamic of what they already had going on. Everything was perfect already.

Johnny, Matt and Zack walked into the gym, Johnny waving at Artemis when he spotted her and Jimmy. “Hey,” he greeted as he approached them.

Fae nodded, smiling at him. Once he’d shut his locker, she led him to the gym, surprised to see so many people there. She had only expected Jimmy, Artemis and Johnny. But the other two from this morning had joined as well. She stopped and turned to look at Brian. “Play nice? For Johnny? He looks excited.”

Brian rolled his eyes when Fae told him to play nice. He always played nice until someone tested his patience and pissed him off. If Matt hadn’t tried to act like a rough guy earlier they wouldn’t have had a problem to begin with. Of course the demon was going to just blame him being close to his first shift because every werewolf he had known turned into a little bitch right before their first shift.

Artemis couldn’t help the grin on her face when everyone showed up. It made her happy Matt and Brian seemed to be over what happened this morning and were willing to be friends. “Do you guys want the food in the cafeteria or do you want to grab something off campus,” she asked. Once or twice a week Jimmy and her would sneak off campus and go get something better than what the school offered.

Zack made a face at the mention of eating in the cafeteria. He usually brought his own lunch, but today, he’d forgotten since he’d been up early to practice. He had a bit of cash on him, though, so he could buy something from McDonald’s or something. “Cafeteria food is gross,” he said after a moment. “I wouldn’t mind getting out of here, I don’t know about you guys. We just have to make sure not to get caught.”

Johnny nodded his head in agreement. “Last thing I need right now is to get kicked out of band,” he said. He glanced over at Brian, smiling cheesily at his friend. He didn’t know why he was so happy all of a sudden, but he was. Maybe it was because he was meeting new people other than Brian that actually liked him. “Are you in, Brian?”

Fae noticed how distant Jimmy looked from everyone, frowning slightly. She walked over and sat beside him, gently resting her hand on his knee. “What about you, Jimmy?” she asked. “What do you want to do?”

I’m down to eat somewhere other than the cafeteria,” he stated. “And I have a plan to get us all out without getting caught. We just need some fairy magic to do it.” He looked over at Fae, hoping she would be down to help since he knew of some special line of fairy magic that could make them all invisible so they could leave campus without getting caught.

“We’ll get caught if we all go,” Jimmy stated. When Brian mention using fairy magic he couldn’t help that his frown seemed to get bigger. He didn’t want everyone to go eat. He was perfectly fine with only Fae and Artemis as his friends. He didn’t want to share Artemis anymore than he already seemed to have to.

“I know a yummy little cafe that is pretty inexpensive and should have anything you guys would want to eat,” Artemis stated. She had a plan for all of them to sneak out because the way she and Jimmy normally snuck out from a gap in the school fence.

Fae looked over at Brian when he mentioned using her magic. “I only use my magic for good,” she said. “Like helping plants come back to life, or helping heal wounds.” She frowned when Jimmy said they’d get caught. He really didn’t seem like he wanted to go. “Maybe one of us should go and get the food, and the rest of us can just hang out here and wait. We should have enough time to eat still.”

“I mean, I don’t necessarily have to eat,” Zack said, shrugging his shoulders. He could go either way when it came to eating. Food to him was just like a little treat aside from the blood he drank. And when it came to blood, he’d fed over the weekend, so he wasn’t hungry really.

“I’ll go with you,” Johnny said to Artemis. “I don’t mind.”