Eyes of Light

I didn’t really register what Nick had said, I was too busy staring into his deep eyes. He didn’t look away for once, he continued to stare right back at me, what looked like a smile playing his lips, but not quite peeking through. I heard someone cough lightly and I looked up slowly, blushing when I realized Anna was standing there, her salad in hand, her eyes trailing over my and Nick’s connected hands. I blushed, but didn’t pull away, surprised when he didn’t either. He looked at her skeptically though.

“Can Anna sit here please?” I asked softly, hope in my voice. Nick gave me a look, telling me it was bad enough with just me. I rolled my eyes and did my best to pout, hoping it’d work on him. If it didn’t, I could always manipulate. I was getting better at it. Now all I had to do was practice getting him to kiss me. Oh, and train for black magic, of course.

“Sure,” he breathed, deciding that he didn’t’ want to be rude. He retracted his hand though and grabbed his coke, focusing on the words on the label intently, intending to block us out. Anna grinned and slid in next to me, forgetting about her salad for a moment. My stomach began to rumble just looking at it.

Anna watched me nervously, her eyes flickering between Nick’s and my own, and then she looked away. I didn’t blame her for being intimidated. I was too, before I knew him. Heck, I still was intimidated by him, but then I had to remember that he was capable of being sweet. I decided to speak.

“Where’s Josh?” I didn’t mean to make Nick jealous, I was truly curious, but I could feel his eyes on me now. I didn’t look over to him.

“He’s sick,” Anna shrugged. “So you have a couple days without him bugging you,” she giggled, glancing over at Nick who seemed to smirk dryly and lean back a little, the muscles in his arm flexing as he stretched. He didn’t even realize how many girls were staring at him. I rolled my eyes discreetly and turned back to Anna, smiling apologetically.

“He doesn’t bug me…”

“Well, if you’re dating Nick…”

My eyes widened and I shook my head quickly, but Nick was paying attention, and he raised his eyebrows in question to me. I felt my face flush and I narrowed my eyes at Anna, she was now sticking her lips together, trying not to giggle at the way Nick was staring at me.

“I never said that!” I hissed, slapping my hand on the table with a whine. Nick couldn’t hold back his laughter and stood, motioning me forward with his finger as he backed up. “Thanks, Anna,” I grumbled, slouching my shoulders as I stood slowly, like a child ready to be yelled at. I could see Nick waiting by the door, his arms crossed, his features amused.

Great.

I sighed heavily and looked over my shoulder, my eyes settling on a smiling Anna as she began to eat her salad, completely ignoring my stare. I trudged forward and past Nick as he opened the door, allowing me forward. His scent carried with me as I bounded down the steps and turned towards the side of the building, knowing he’d want to talk to me in private. I turned a little to see him right behind me, his eyes focused solely on me, and I kept forward.

Nick’s warm hand grabbed my shoulder gently, stopping me when we turned around the corner. He shoved me into the wall a little and my heart pounced, his figure standing in front of me. I swallowed the lump in my throat and managed an innocent smile, his eyes locking mine.

“Did you tell Anna we were… dating?” the word didn’t easily leave his mouth, but he didn’t spit it out. It sounded thoughtful. I told myself to calm down and breathe.

“No,” I sighed, shaking my head a little. He waited for me to continue. “I told her that we kissed, but I never said we were dating!” I quickly defended, loosening my stance under his grip on my shoulder. He nodded slowly and scratched his head, sliding his hand to the wall behind me, patting the brick building with his fingertips right above my shoulder.

“Why did you tell her we kissed?” he asked softly.

“I told her me and Josh couldn’t work…”

“Because we kissed?” he asked almost sarcastically. I flushed.

“Well would you rather have me tell her that I’m a witch and that you’re my wolf soul mate and that’s why I’m not supposed to be with Josh?” I snapped quickly, moving my arm up to fix my sling. I really needed a cast.

“That’s not the only reason why you aren’t supposed to be with Josh,” he muttered to himself, but I heard it. When it came to Nick, I heard everything.

“What’s the other reason then?” I challenged, his eyes snapping up to meet mine again. They were serious again, the chocolate seeming just a little lighter.

“Because he isn’t right for someone like you,” he simply shrugged, but that wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

“What do you mean? Someone like me? What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, quickly offended. He sighed and bit his lip, probably now realizing what he said was wrong. Or maybe it wasn’t. His eyes told me that he had reasons to believe Josh wasn’t right for me, and I was sure my eyes were begging him to explain.

“You complain a lot. You’re irritating. You’re oblivious. You’re reckless.” Was this ever going to get better? Or was he going to keep insulting me? I looked away from his eyes and down to the necklace that was peeking through his shirt, listening to more of his words. “You’re intelligent and you trust. And sometimes you’re too much to handle.”

“So… you’re saying that Josh can’t handle me?” I questioned. I wasn’t that unstable. He nodded. “How do you know that?”

“I just do, Lonnie.”

“Well, since you’re set on insulting me-”

“I’m not,” he interrupted, sighing a little. I could feel him lean closer, our eyes connected with an emotion I wasn’t used to; one that overwhelmed me and made me feel breathless, made me feel like I had twisting knots in my stomach. It was an unbelievable feeling. “It’s hard to say nice things about you because you hold them against me,” he whispered, his breath hitting my shaking lips. I wanted so badly just to say something, but I couldn’t. It was shocking.

“Y-you said I was like a prize, in there…” I finally managed to spit out, my voice a little shaky. “Does that mean that you li-” I couldn’t say the word for some reason. Maybe it was a fear of rejection. Nick didn’t have to like me to be my soul mate, to kiss me. Nick was a mystery. He waited patiently, his eyes burning into mine, and I knew he had to of leaned closer. “Does that mean you like me?” I was aware of the softness of my voice; it was like a whisper, maybe quieter.

He stood in front of me with a mixture of shock and thought, his full lips pursed and his eyebrows knitted together in concentration. His eyes flickered away from mine and down to the wall, meeting mine again a few moments later. Silence fell over us like a blanket and I waited for him to speak, but nothing happened. He stood there, almost frozen, and his lips twitched with words ready to spill out. I waited, excitedly and anxiously, pulling myself a little closer to his face. But just as all of our moments seemed to be, it was ruined by the shrill sound of the bell, and, in an instant, Nick was feet away from me.

“We should just go now,” he finally did speak. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I groaned inwardly and pushed myself away from the wall, clearing my throat. “We need to start your training.”

[&&light]

Nick and I hid by the cafeteria, waiting for the bell for class to ring. We sat up against the brick wall, our thighs touching, and I looked over at him slowly. Our eyes met softly and I offered a shy smile, my heart thumping when he returned it. I didn’t understand the way Nick acted and I didn’t think I ever would. He turned his head away from me and squinted in the blinding sun that began to peak through the dark clouds. The air was still cool and I let out a sigh, looking around. No one was in sight.

“Come on,” he said lightly, jumping to his feet. He grabbed my good arm and helped me up, allowing me to wipe the gravel on my pants before he started to walk towards the building.

We entered around the side door and avoided the office, quickly going to our lockers. I remembered when we had that little episode in the hallway and I blushed. Nick was so happy at that moment. I wanted to hear him laugh, to see him smile. But there was no telling when that would happen. We went in our separate directions, quickly getting into our lockers, and I smiled to myself. Maybe I could make the first move for once.

I bit my lip and peered down the hall, spotting Nick opening his, and I slowly crept over. He didn’t seem to notice me, his mind too occupied on getting all his homework sorted for the right class. When I got close enough, I leant forward and quickly planted my lips to his smooth cheek, giggling when he jumped slightly, his beautiful eyes wide with surprise. I turned away and hurried down the hall, looking back to see him still standing at his locker. I didn’t want to stay in the building, so I headed outside and continued to blush, waiting in the slight breeze.

Suddenly, I felt arms wrap around my waist swiftly, lifting me up a little, and I gasped. I could feel his breath on my ear and I shivered when he whispered.

“You think you’re sly, don’t you?” he chuckled breathily.

“I guess you are too. Is it a supernatural thing, sneaking up on people like we do?” I whispered, stifling another giggle. I could feel the corner of his lips twitch up from where it touched my skin.

“Must be,” he murmured.

I had succeeded. I had made Nick both laugh and smile. Now the challenge was seeing how long I could get him to stay that way. And I still wanted him to answer my question, but I wouldn’t push him. Not when his arms still remained wrapped around my middle, his warm breath tickling the bare spot on my shoulder. He stood there like that for a moment, the rustling trees fitting the moment--if this was a moment--perfectly. When he didn’t pull back, I turned my head a little, my face completely softening and relieving of all thought when I realized he had been staring at me and our eyes were now locked.

How was he so beautiful? How were his curls so perfectly messy? How were his eyes so soft and serious? How was his skin so soft? These were questions that led to only one answer: Nick was amazing. He always would be and I felt lucky. My life seemed to be about progression. We were progressing. That’s all I wanted to know. I remembered Eve saying that I could defeat the black magic if I focused on protecting someone. At the time, Nick didn’t seem so appealing, mostly because of his attitude--his looks were just fine. But now… now I knew he was it. I needed Nick and, as long as I trained and thought of Nick, everything would be okay.

I could feel him lean in and those similar feelings erupted through me. When his lips touched mine, I almost yelped with excitement. He wasn’t trying to shut me up during an argument, prove a point, or give me CPR. Nick was actually kissing me in the moment. I felt my eyes close and I leaned into his chest a little, turning my head to move my lips against his. I didn’t know why or where I had gotten the sudden urge to kiss him back as much as I was, but it was… sweet and it made my heart soar. I could feel his hands slide down to my hips and he turned me around a little, my chest now facing his. I could feel his hand slide up to my cheek, making me tilt my head just a little, his fingers brushing over my jaw line.

Whenever Nick kissed me, it was like a dream. It was soft and sweet, but sometimes it was rough, like earlier. I wondered though; would he ever kiss me repeatedly, like in those romance movies? I didn’t want to call it making-out because that was embarrassing. But I stopped my thoughts and remembered that Nick said not to compare us to those stupid movies. I hoped we were so much more than that.

He pulled back slowly, his eyes locking mine, and I hoped I saw a flicker of a smile course through him. I knew my cheeks were warm with more than just my bright glow as I held onto him tightly with my one arm. He pursed his soft lips, his eyes flickering between mine to the sky and back. I felt him heave a sigh and his eyes narrowed in thought, his curls lightly rustling in the wind as he cocked his head.

“You know,” he started lowly, his words as hushed as the wind. “I’m not usually up for trying new things, but that whole dating idea might not be as terrible as I thought…” he trailed off.

I could feel my eyes immediately light up and a wide smile graced my lips. I didn’t bother trying to hide it and he knew it and rolled his eyes, scratching his head almost nervously. I opened my mouth to speak but he quickly cut me off, narrowing his eyes at me.

“But don’t you dare hold that against me. I’m just throwing out ideas.”

I nodded quickly and let out a giggle, quickly closing my mouth when he chuckled, shaking his head at me. He pulled back and let his head hang, re-adjusting the bag on his shoulder while he headed down the hill, leaving me to watch for a moment. What did that mean? Did he like me? Was that supposed to be the answer to my earlier question? If it was then… I’d take it!

I quickly rushed to his side and pushed my hair back, sending him another smile as we walked. I wouldn’t hold it against him… but I didn’t exactly promise.

[&&light]

When we reached the house he told me we’d visit Sheba and Eve later, but we had training to do and that was more important. I had agreed and put my bag away with his, our endless homework haunting us, but saving people seemed more important than history and a book report.

We stood between the trees, the wind unmoving, the silence almost dead. Nick stood in front of me a few feet away, a look of concentration on his face. He was waiting for me to focus, like he asked, and I was doing my best but I didn’t exactly know what to focus on.

“Are you ready?” he mumbled, cracking his knuckles. I scrunched up my nose and shrugged, getting him to sigh.

“Well it would help if you told me what I was about to do,” I grumbled, chewing on my lip eagerly. He nodded.

“We’ll start simple, something non-destructive…” he said lowly, looking around. His eyes settled on a small rock that could fit in his palm just barely and he pointed to it. “Pick that up and give it to me.”

“I can do that?” I whispered, smiling when he nodded. “Cool!” I squealed, aware that he was ready to laugh, but he quickly turned serious, prompting me to do the same.

“Okay…” I mumbled to myself, quickly clearing my mind to focus on the rock. I narrowed my eyes and moved my hand slowly, my glow seeming to shoot out in a light trail, almost sparkling, and the rock began to lift. I smiled, my eyes wide with surprise, but the rock began to fall.

“You have to stay focused. I think that’s your biggest threat. You need to stay focused and strengthen your magic,” Nick instructed. I knew he wasn’t an expert on witches, considering he was a wolf, but he sure knew a heck of a lot. Why was he so intelligent?

“Right,” I sighed, shutting my eyes and clearing my throat, giving my hand a little shake. With my mind clear again, my glow became another trail and the rock quickly lifted as I stared at it. I focused on getting it to Nick and that’s where it started to glide. I watched his eyes follow the rock, unable to hide the amazement in them, and he held out his palm. I dropped the rock in his hand with ease.

“That was great,” he praised, giving me a quick smile. He dropped the rock to the dirt with a thud, a small cloud of dust puffing up. “Now break that tree like you did before.”

“Okay,” I grumbled, scratching my head. I turned my body to focus on the large tree, my eyes locking on it fully. I knew this would take a little more, but not much.

I stared the tree down and lifted my bright hand, the glow shooting out a ways, almost making a circle. I watched curiously, aware that Nick was slowly moving to stand by me, observing, and I did my best to focus on snapping the tree. I could feel my hand shake just as the tree began to rustle, faster and faster. I felt a dull pain in the back of my head and I knew a headache was coming on, but I’d have to learn to tough it out. Breathing out deeply, I pushed forward some more and shut my eyes, hearing a loud snap echo through the air. My eyes fluttered open just in time to see the tree fall to the ground, giving it a shake and a thud. I breathed out in amazement.

“Are you getting a hold on the things you can do?” Nick whispered from beside me, crossing his arms. I nodded slowly.

“So this is helping me focus or get stronger?”

“Both,” he muttered, licking his lips. “What I do know about witches is that a simple task can lead their strength and focus. Carrying an object allow focus to grow without thinking about it, and destroying something gives out strength. The more you destroy, the more your powers can come out.” That, surprisingly, made sense. But everything Nick said made sense.

He opened his mouth to speak again but quickly shut it, his eyes narrowing. I felt him move forward almost protectively and, within a second of shaking, he phased. I gaped at how quickly he could do something like that and I was amazed.

“What?” I quivered, kneeling down a bit. I set my hand on his head and felt him ease up, but quickly tense again as the bushes rustled.

“Someone’s coming…”he said lowly, his large gold eyes meeting mine. They were breathtaking and my glow stayed just as bright. Before I had time to ask who, Nick let out a small growl, leaning forward in protective mode. It made me feel safe to know he’d be there, no matter what.

Suddenly two figures emerged, their hands up in defense, and I recognized their mud brown hair, one of their faces holding a scar: Russell, the other being Ryan. They wore blank faces, afraid to show their fear, and they blinked in slight surprise. Nick seemed to lighten up and let out a low whimper when I gently ran my hand over his fur, smiling down at him admiringly. He was so beautiful, in both forms.

“Ryan and Russell…”he mumbled, slowing moving away from me, like he didn’t want to, but only I would think that.

Nick lifted himself higher on all four legs and sniffed the air, the wind breezing through his fur. Soon enough, he was becoming transparent until he was himself again, his fingertips running through his curls. He gave them a small smile, but looked at them skeptically.

“What are you guys doing way out here?” he questioned the twins, both of them looking a little more relieved. Russell stepped forward, running his fingertips over his scar. It looked like a habit of his.

“Your dad told us to look for you…” Russell stated, Ryan cutting in.

“But we don’t know where Jeremy went.”

Nick looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” Russell started skeptically, glancing over at me and then back at Nick. I stepped a little closer to them, pushing my hair away from my face.

“Lucas of the council has gone missing and so has Jeremy, apparently.”

“Members of the council just don’t go missing,” Nick mumbled, his features confused. “You’re sure Jeremy’s missing?”

“I thought you didn’t like him,” I whispered, leaning closer so my voice didn’t echo. Nick looked down at me and shook his head.

“I don’t, but he’s part of my pack. I can’t just let this go.”

I nodded, understanding. But what I didn’t understand was how he could just go missing… with the lead of the council, his dad.

“The old great wolf has reason to believe it’s the black magic’s doing,” Ryan spoke in his gruff voice, addressing Nick again. He looked a little softer at the mention of his dad.

“It’s a good possibility,” he agreed lightly, looking away for a moment. “But are you saying that the black magic kidnapped a useless werewolf and the head of the council?”

Russell nodded slowly, shrugging. “You thinking something else?”

“Yeah,” he said quietly, turning to face me a little. “Sheba, Coimbra, and Eve. We need to talk to them to see if they know anything.”

“But if Sheba and Coimbra do, it doesn’t mean they’ll tell us…” I trailed off, unsure of what to think. What else could go wrong?

“You’re right,” Nick said confidently, like he already knew this mystery was phony. I watched him with curious eyes, biting my lip.

“What’re you thinking Nick?” Ryan piped up, truly interested. He looked like he liked a good fight, if there was going to be one. I shuttered. Nick didn’t turn away from me, but he did answer.

“I think this is a trick. Whoever’s controlling the black magic is setting up a mystery, a diversion. It wants us out in the open and ready to fight.” Nick’s words began to sink in and they made sense. I hated this.

“Why though? Why would they capture the leader of the council and his son?” I quickly asked, glancing over to see an equally puzzled Ryan and Russell.

“Remember when I told you that most of the council is crooked?” Nick asked, swallowing hard. He was trying his best to piece this all together when I barely even got the fact that I was a witch. Thank god for Nick. “Remember how we talked about Lucas and how he’s human?”

“But you said he could be something else…” I slowly added, waiting for his words to make sense.

“Right,” he nodded. “And whatever he is, I don’t know. But I do know that we have to hurry if we want people safe. I have a feeling that the person behind black magic isn’t into the traditional stealing magic from the great witch. I have a feeling that, whoever this is, Lucas is behind it, and that idiot Jeremy isn’t too far either,” he growled. I was still trying to grasp everything.

“So… what are you saying?” I asked cautiously, seeing a hint of adventure in Nick’s eye. Now I was worried.

“I’m saying that we’ll go along with this plan. We’ll look for Lucas and Jeremy.”

“What? But we’ll walk right into a trap!” I breathed out, shaking my head, but he looked so sure.

“We’ll be ready, Lonnie. Once we get enough information, we can stop everything. We can do this. Together.” The way he spoke those words, the way he looked at me… it made me want to faint and I quickly agreed, smiling weakly when he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, smiling back at me warmly.

This was a train wreck waiting to happen.