Guiding Lights

Being a teenage witch, you kind of learn to have enemies. Whether they’re other witches set on taking your power, vampires trying to suck your blood, or wolves that just don’t like you, I have my fair share of them. Oh, and let’s not forget to mention the hoard of teenage girls that wished looks could kill whenever I was out in public with Nick - even if it wasn’t often. But… right now? My enemy was my multiple-choice English quiz.

Dad was out grocery shopping at 10am with Eve, and I was alone in the living room with piles of homework and a romance movie on TV. Nick didn’t spend the night, he didn’t even come over. In fact, he hadn’t been here in two days. I don’t know how this marriage thing works, but I’m pretty sure we’re either supposed to be living together by now, considering it’s been three months since the wedding, or that we’re supposed to see each other on a daily basis. At least that’s how I want it to be. But after Eve finally acknowledged the fact that she knew what we had done before getting married, she gave us the “smallest” punishment. Nick and I couldn’t be alone for a certain length of time, but if we were we had to promise not to go farther than kissing. So that meant that Nick had to stay in the village while I stayed at Dad’s for as long as Eve thought fit. We had to get used to the distance thing and how uncomfortable it was, but it was something we’d have to get through.

So while Eve thought that we were following the rules perfectly, we had to understand that we had already broken it. I guess that’s why we kept quiet about not seeing each other.

He did call me though. That was my 20 minute highlight.

I sighed heavily and crossed my legs Indian-style on the couch, placing my notebook and the quiz sheet on my lap. I twirled my pencil between my fingers and read several questions more than once before starting on the first answer. It was already January, but it seemed like an actual full year had passed since that battle with Lucas; I could shiver at just the thought. I was still a sophomore though, and it was only January… 5 more months to go.

I was out of public school now, something that wasn’t so terrible, but of course Nick couldn’t see it that way. He practically branded it as a tragedy that I had to be home schooled for this year and the remaining two - hopefully one - years of high school. I told him to quit being so overdramatic. He told me to go ride my broomstick.

If only I had one.

He didn’t know that I was ahead in my school work already and that I was incorporating next year’s work each day so I could graduate a year early. It was a good thing to me, but you never knew with Nick. And since he was never here I didn’t have a chance to tell him anyway. He was still hoping that, if things around the village died down for the rest of this year, I could go back to public school to be with Josh and Anna… even if he was still a little jealous.

I stared at the paper for a second longer before shutting my eyes tight and slowly breathing in. I had been getting dizzy lately and I often felt like I was drained. It practically took everything in me to even get up and into the shower this morning. Too bad I didn’t have enough energy to do anything besides throw some shorts on, a tank, and put my hair in a braid. I didn’t forget one of Nick’s sweatshirts that I stole, though. But even just sitting here, I could feel my head spinning. No one knew about this, and I didn’t really want to mention it considering I was already known for having panic attacks. Luckily I hadn’t had those since Nick came through; I shuddered at the thought.

I kept my eyes closed for another moment and focused on the murmurs from the TV and my breathing. I calmed myself just in time. My head turned when I heard the door open, my neck craning to see who it was. It couldn’t be Dad and Eve, or Josh and Anna because they were in school, and Ry and Russ didn’t leave the village without a reason. The butterflies in my stomach hoped that it was Nick. And I smiled when I spotted those neat curls and that soft face, his chocolate eyes warm as they landed on me.

“Hey, you,” I grinned, letting out my long breath. He gave me a small but sincere smile, stepping forward before shutting the door carefully behind him, blocking the chilly winter air. “Where have you been?”

“I overslept,” he said quietly. I could tell he was holding in a yawn.

“Ah,” I nodded. “Stay up late and party with Ryan and Russell?” I giggled when he rolled his eyes, a smirk twitching at his lips.

“You know me,” he shrugged with a tiny smirk, taking a few steps towards the couch. “I was with Ryan and Russell though.”

“Were you having a sleepover?” I added fake excitement to my voice, hoping to get him to laugh a little. Maybe I was pathetic, but I was happy I succeeded and got to hear that soft melodic laugh.

“We were on patrol again.”

When Nick first told me he was on patrol I thought that he had volunteered to be a cop or something, or some sort of a wolf ninja, but he simply told me that since he was the great wolf now that it was his responsibility, along with his pack (which had received a new member), to patrol the village and town to make sure that the people like us - wolves and witches and even vampires - were safe along with the “humans.” Even though Lucas was gone, it was hard for everyone that knew of his existence to feel safe.

“Again? Isn’t that three nights in a row?” No wonder he looked so tired.

“Just about,” he sighed, slowly trailing his tongue over his bottom lip. “Sorry I haven’t been around.” He leaned down at that moment, his lips meeting mine as I eagerly leaned towards him. As soon as they collided I felt my glow spark and the swarms of butterflies and fireworks in my tummy go off and out of control. Nick, you kill me.

“Mmm,” I hummed when he pulled back, my cheeks beginning to burn. “It’s okay.” He gave me another warm smile and pressed his lips firmly against my forehead, making my eyes flutter close. I loved the warmth I felt whenever he was around. “I miss you though.”

He didn’t hesitate, even if his words indicated his slight embarrassment, to say, “I miss you, too.” I could have squealed with glee.

I’m such a sap.

I watched him trudge over to the other side of the couch and plop down next to me, leaving some space between us, much to my dismay. I didn’t scoot over yet though, I was a little too focused on the quiz that sat on my lap and the way it was taunting me. Would it be absurd to ask Nick to phase and then tear it up? Mr. Cornell would probably know what I meant when I’d tell him my dog ate my homework…

“What are you doing?” he asked suddenly, tilting his head as he peered down at my paper. I sighed.

“Homework.”

“Are you behind?” His voice was almost concerned, his eyes ready to scold me as if I were a child. I had to bite back my smile.

“Ahead, actually,” I breathed, scanning my eyes over all the books on the table. “I’m working into next year, trying to see if maybe I can skip Junior and graduate early.” He stared at me for a moment, his eyes dancing over my face sternly. I bit my lip.

“Lonnie, you’re getting way ahead of yourself.” I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, turning my body to face him a little more.

“Are you saying that I can’t do it?”

“No,” he shook his head, pressing his lips together tightly for just a moment. “I’m saying you don’t need to. It’s a lot of work, and you’ll end up not even going back to public school. That isn’t good for you.”

“But…” I tried, glancing around the room while my head started to spin again. I cleared my throat. “That isn’t true. I could still go back for senior year and graduate there-”

“But you won’t graduate with Josh and Anna,” he argued. “You’re isolating yourself too much. You sit here all day and do more homework than you need, and the only people you see are Mr. Cornell, Eve, your Dad, and myself.”

“Again, that’s not true.” I inhaled deeply and shifted on the couch, brushing the hair out of my face. Nick quirked his eyebrow, almost challenging me to name off the rest of the people I come in contact with. “I see Ryan and Russell, and Joe and Frankie-”

“Only when I’m with you,” he cut off, shaking his head. I huffed.

“But Nick, is it not natural for me to want to spend time with you?”

“No,” he shook his head, his eyes meeting mine. “You’re just weird.” I stared at him for a moment, my mouth dropping open, and a smirk covered his lips.

“I’m not weird, jerk,” I muttered as I punched his arm, getting him to shake with silent laughter, a bright smile covering his lips. I melted a little on the inside.

“But in all seriousness,” he said once he cleared his throat, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Just finish high school the way it’s supposed to be.”

“I just want to be done with this…”

“Just go back to school next year, as a junior…” he trailed off, his eyes meeting mine. Nick didn’t have manipulating powers like I did, but he was pretty darn good at doing it the old fashioned way. I crossed my arms. “Please Lonnie?” he asked quietly, raising his thin eyebrows as I glared. I felt him scoot over suddenly, his warm hand clasping mine, sending tingles through me as he laced our fingers together and then placed his other hand on my bare thigh. Goosebumps. My eyes darted down to where his hand sat on my leg and I gulped, immediately feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. “Do it?” he asked again, hoping to get an answer out of me. “For me?”

Oh, come on!

“Nick, I hate it when you do this.”

“Do what?” he asked, knitting his eyebrows together. He’s a better actor then he lets on, and it sucks.

“You know exactly what, Mister,” I pouted, poking his nose with my free hand. He shut his eyes when I did so, reopening them slowly to focus on me. “And as much as I’d like to meet your every wish, Master, this is something that I’m pretty set on doing.”

He looked at me seriously and heaved a heavy sigh, slowly dragging his hand off my leg so I could breathe. “You’re too stubborn,” he muttered to himself, turning away from me so his eyes could settle on the TV. I laughed.

“You’re the stubborn one, really. And besides, it really isn’t bad. I don’t see why you’re so against me trying to accomplish more than I’m used to. I thought you’d be all for overachieving.” I watched him keep his eyes on the TV, though he wasn’t fully watching, and tightened my hand in his when I didn’t get a response. “Are you mad at me now?” I whispered, leaning a little towards his ear. He twitched a little.

“I just feel like you’re doing this because of me,” he finally breathed, not looking at me.

“No,” I scoffed, or lied. So maybe I was sort of doing it for him, but it benefited me too! Not only would I be out of school a year early, I’d be able to spend time with Nick… my husband. No matter how weird it was to think that… I loved it. He turned his head to look at me at that moment, his eyes telling me that he knew better. I rolled mine. “Okay, so maybe I don’t want to be in school while my husband isn’t.” It wasn’t often that Nick blushed, but when he did… well, it was the cutest thing ever.

“I don’t want you to think that way, Lonnie. These are your experiences.”

“I don’t want to experience them if you can’t be there!” I stressed, trying my best to stay calm. I was working off a short fuse lately. It had to be stress.

“So you’re going to limit yourself based on me?” he asked. I noted the way he tried to keep his voice down. Improvements like these really made things better.

“No.”

“Are you going to look into a college?” he asked.

“Are you?”

“See? Right there. Lonnie, I can’t and you know that. I have too much on my shoulders right now.” I really didn’t want to argue with Nick. But we wouldn’t be even our definition or normal if we were smiley and relaxed all the time.

“I have just as much duty as you, you know. Great witch, remember? And maybe I don’t want to go to college. There isn’t much I’m good at, anyway.”

“Don’t,” he warned and his face was somehow hard and compassionate at the same time. “Don’t think that. You could do well with a lot of things, but you’re too focused on me to try and benefit yourself.”

That was one thing about Nick; sometimes he made me feel stupid. Not because he belittled me or told me that I couldn’t do something, but because he believed in me so entirely that it made it seem unreal. And then I felt stupid.

“Are we done?” I whispered. I bit my lip and darted my eyes between his, wanting nothing more than to just kiss him again. One short kiss didn’t make up for the time spent without him. “I don’t want to argue with you.”

“We’re done,” he sighed, his whole demeanor seeming to calm down. I smiled.

I scooted closer to him, untangling my hand from his so it could drop into my lap and allow both of my hands to grab his face. I didn’t want to be weird, but I was anyway; I stroked his jaw line with my thumb, slowly grazing my other hand up his cheek until my fingers dug into his curls. He watched me with serious eyes, his lips set into a soft line, almost parted, but he didn’t move.

“I missed you,” I breathed, licking my lips to distract me from my nerves. I still got them around Nick, and I always would. It was just the way he made me feel.

“I know,” he murmured, a hint of a smirk on his lips. “You told me.” I rolled my eyes with a small laugh and then leaned forward, pressing my lips to his. He kissed back slowly, the hand on my lap lifting until it rested on my hip, the other one moving to rest on my cheek warmly.

He pressed his lips to mine this time, the feeling coursing through me being my favorite. I tightened my fingers around his curls, smiling into the kiss when he leaned a little farther in, probably annoyed that I was using that against him… again. But I couldn’t help it, and I knew he secretly liked it.

He pulled his lips from mine and allowed our foreheads to rest together, his fingertips brushing against my cheek before dropping his hand. Just being with Nick made me happy.

“You hungry?” I asked softly, trying to regain my voice.

“I’m alright. You better get back to your homework.” Before he was even done speaking I heard a noise, and I laughed.

“Nick, your stomach’s growling! You are hungry. I’ll fix you a sandwich.”

“You don’t have to,” he protested, sitting up a little straighter. I leaned forward and pecked his cheek, smiling even wider when I saw that red tinge in his cheeks.

“I need a break anyway. School gives me a headache.” I scrunched up my face to prove my point, Nick’s soft laughter filling my ears.

I jumped up off the couch and made my way into the kitchen, pulling the legs of my shorts down on the way, when Nick said, “Why are you wearing shorts when it just got through snowing?” I laughed.

“I couldn’t find any pants.”

“But you could find my sweatshirt?” he asked incredulously, though it was more to himself. “Does that mean your room is a complete mess again?”

“Hey!” I called, glancing over my shoulder while grabbing the loaf of bread and blowing the hair out of my face. I was an expert at multi-tasking. “You cleaned it once. Try having to clean it every week.”

“Why don’t you try it first?” he retorted, a smirk covering his lips, accompanied by those dimples that made him completely adorable. “You barely clean it once a month.”

“I’m a big girl, actually I’m a woman. I don’t need to clean my room once a week,” I called back. I pulled the bread out and set it on a plate, moving myself towards the fridge. I could’ve sworn I heard him snort the word woman. Jerk.

“I think it’s pretty bad when you can’t even find a pair of pants…” he trailed off before changing the subject. I turned just in time to see his nose crinkle and his eyebrows knit together while he stared at the screen, his body unmoving. “What are you watching anyway?”

“Hmm…” I hummed, trying to remember. I ripped a piece of meat off and stuck it in my mouth before placing it on the bread, shifting my weight so I could get a glimpse of him. “I’m not sure. It was just on. Feel free to change it.”

“You sure?” he asked, failing to hold in his yawn. I quickly nodded, earning a tired “okay” in response.

I finished making his sandwich and put the stuff away, grabbing him a soda on my way to the couch where I plopped myself back down. I watched him change the channel repeatedly for a moment, waiting to hand him his plate until he settled on some movie. He was probably going to change it again within five minutes. When he turned to me I gave him a smile, holding his plate and can of Coke out towards him.

“Here you go, kind sir,” I joked, smiling a little wider when one covered his own lips.

“Thank you.” One thing I loved about Nick was how sincere his words could be, like how he truly appreciated me making him a sandwich. I guess he was so used to doing things by himself, but he didn’t need to be alone anymore. We were in this - everything - together. He tilted his head forward as he grabbed the items and pressed a soft kiss to my temple, making me sigh with content. Little moments like these with Nick were ones to cherish.

I reached for my notebook again, snuggling myself deeper into the sweatshirt because even I didn’t want to bother Nick about cuddling while he was eating. But before I could even think about focusing on the quiz, I had a question to ask.

“Why are you guys out so late, anyway? What are you patrolling?”

“We’re patrolling the village,” he answered after a moment of chewing and a swallow, “And town.”

“But why?” It didn’t make any sense. Was there something bad out there? Couldn’t we have at least five months of peace? Three definitely wasn’t enough. “Is something going on?”

Nick hesitated for a moment, his tongue trailing over his full bottom lip almost nervously. I kept my gaze on him, refusing to look away until he answered.

“Nothing’s going on, we’re preventing it,” he finally said, glancing at me quickly. I was confused.

“Preventing what though? Why are you patrolling in the first place? Are people suspicious of something, worried?” I could already feel myself getting a little hyperactive, and apparently it was noticeable.

“Lonnie, calm down." He spoke smoothly, his intense eyes locking with mine. “People are starting to hear a few noises around the outskirts, close to town, and it’s riling them a little.”

“What kind of noises? You don’t know what you’re looking for?” I wasn’t going to calm down. It wasn’t in my nature.

“I haven’t heard anything yet, but I haven’t been around. Sean and I go around the woodsy areas; Ryan and Russell go as close to town as they can. And we aren’t necessarily looking for anything.”

“Nick!” I squealed, biting my lip with embarrassment as soon as he raised his eyebrows at me. I shook my head. “That’s dangerous! You don’t even know what you’re looking out for… how can you be so calm about this?”

“Because we haven’t run into anything yet. Why are you so worried?” he replied, tightening his fingers around the can. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You could get hurt, that’s why I’m worried.” I didn’t even want to think about that… about the last time Nick was hurt. Nick’s eyes softened and he glanced down at his lap for a moment, exhaling slowly.

“I’m not going to get hurt. I know what I’m doing, and we haven’t run into anything. Right now, the problem-” he used air quotes, “is just a noise.”

I was ready to quiet down for a moment, let the issue go and focus on homework and cuddling with Nick for as long as I could, but then I had another worry I had to voice. “What if it’s Coimbra, Nick?” He set his sandwich on the plate after taking a bite, slowly chewing while giving me a slightly confused expression. And then even more fear and dread washed through me. “What if it's Jeremy?”

“Is that what you’re worried about?” he asked, his smooth voice holding a little more ease, but the look in his eyes told me that he didn’t want to relieve the memory of what had happened the last time we had seen Jeremy. “Lonnie, you’re fine, okay? There’s no way I’ll let him get to you.” Things like that gave me that warm fuzzy feeling, but I wasn’t worried about myself.

“He could have killed you, Nick,” I whispered. My heart beat sped up a little while the incident replied in my mind. I shivered. “You’re alone out there-”

“I’m not alone,” he interrupted, his thick curls swaying when he shook his head.

“You’re with that Sean guy?” I scoffed. “How do you even know he’s a good egg?” He almost mouthed “what?” at me, but shook his head instead, heaving a sigh.

“I don’t know much about Sean, and he doesn’t know much about me. I’m keeping it that way.”

“Then how can you trust him? I don’t know… I met him once and I thought he was weird…” I trailed off, easily remembering first seeing him two months ago. Surprisingly, Nick chuckled.

“That’s because he was checking you out the whole time.” I did remember that, but only because Nick was hovering the whole time with that intense look in his eye whenever Sean stepped within a few feet of me. I couldn’t say I didn’t like being that close to Nick, especially since he looked so cute when he was jealous. He says he wasn’t, but I knew he was. He had nothing to be jealous about anyway, though.

“Whatever,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest. “All I’m saying is that you don’t know about Sean, and that you don’t know if maybe Coimbra’s lurking around, and that you don’t know if you really can keep yourself safe.” I paused for a moment, flickering my eyes away from him and muttered, “And you don’t know where Jeremy is.”

We sat in silence for a moment, our eyes staying locked while I tried to settle my breathing. Nick stayed calm for once.

“Are you through?” he asked lowly, letting his lips linger on the rim of the Coke before I nodded, allowing him to take a drink. “Since when did you start worrying about me so much?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Since… forever.”

“I haven’t even known you for forever,” he retorted with a slight smirk. I laughed a little.

“Not yet, at least.”

“Not yet,” he agreed.

He set his plate and can on the table gently, leaning back into the couch and changing the channel. My glow brightened a little when he grabbed my hand and intertwined them; my glow wasn’t as noticeable to either of us anymore, but there were those little moments where it allowed me to realize that Nick really was real. He slid his thumb over my skin at a slow, repeated pace, keeping his focus on the TV along with me. I tried to focus more on my quiz than him, but… that pretty much failed.

“Hey Nick?” I murmured, peeking up at him through my fallen bangs. He turned his head, tilting it slightly so his eyes could meet mine at my slightly leaned position. “When are you going to sing to me again?” It was a random question, but I really wanted to know. He shouldn’t have sung to me at our wedding if he was never going to again.

“I wasn’t aware that you wanted me to,” he said softly, his eyes darting down to our connected hands as I plopped them into my lap, beginning to play with his fingers.

“Of course. It’s sort of a have-to thing now,” I grinned, peeking up at him. He shook his head.

“Do your homework, Lonnie.”

I sighed heavily and let go of his hand, replacing it with a pencil. What a terrible substitute. I scanned over the quiz again and all the words seemed to jumble together when my head did a quick spin. Blinking rapidly I stole another glance at Nick, relieved to see that he didn’t witness the weird spasm.

“Nick…” I sighed after a long moment of silence. Well, one minute, but it seemed long.

“Yes?” he asked, rolling his head over the back of the couch so he could face me.

“I need help.” I hated asking for help because it made me seem weak and small, and maybe I was, but I certainly didn’t want to feel that way.

“When’s Mr. Cornell coming?” Nick asked, referring to my new at home teacher. I was lucky that he decided to do this for me.

“Not until tomorrow. He said he was meeting with the council today, while Eve’s with my Dad.” I didn’t exactly know what my Dad and Eve… were at the moment. It was obvious they liked each other, and it was obvious that I was pretty much okay with it, but there was a part of me that worried that Dad would forget about Mom. I couldn’t stand for that to happen.

“Okay,” he nodded, sitting himself up a little. “What are you working on?”

“An English quiz.”

“Are you supposed to ask for help on those?” he questioned, his voice holding that familiar authoritative undertone, but he leaned forward anyway, scooting a little closer. I shrugged. “Let’s see…” he mumbled to himself, reaching one hand over to grip the side of the paper. I moved it a little closer to him, turning my head so I could look at both his face -- which was amazingly close -- and the paper. I could see all the light freckles splattered across his face and neck, and the way his lips sort of pouted out while he concentrated. I was practically breathing in his scent like oxygen. “Number one is A, not B,” he said, his smooth voice interrupting my thoughts. I darted my eyes back down to the paper, reading over the question that I chose the wrong answer for.

Duh, Lonnie.

“Oh,” I said, slightly embarrassed. I quickly erased the answer like it could somehow erase my stupidity out of his mind, and then circled the correct letter.

“Two is right,” he noted, “and so is three. What about four?” He glanced up at me now, waiting for me to give him the answer.

I read over the question again and sighed, not quite sure what to choose. I was having trouble focusing all of a sudden and I wasn’t really sure why. Nothing was bothering me; I wasn’t having nightmares and I wasn’t upset about anything, or arguing with Nick. I tried to brush it off and focus on the question again, but an uncomfortable twisting began to form in my stomach and the feeling of my breath being taken away was back.

“Lonnie,” Nick spoke, his voice more alert. I snapped my gaze over to him. His eyes danced over my face with concern, his lips almost twisted into a frown. I swallowed, the feelings going away in what felt like a rush of heat right as his hand touched my arm. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah,” I answered breathily, giving off a nervous laugh. “I’m fine. Umm… I think it’s D.”

He watched me with skeptical eyes, and I could see his mind reeling through them. He looked down at the paper after a moment, his hand slowly lifting off my arm, but I grabbed his hand as easily as I could and held it. He didn’t protest.

“Close,” he finally said. He pointed his finger to B, letting me know the real answer.

“I’m getting answers wrong on a simple quiz.” I didn’t mean to whine, but this was one of the times where I felt really stupid. I was usually a good student.

“That’s why you have a quiz. That way you don’t get the answers wrong on the test.”

“Oh, you just know everything, don’t you?” I grumbled, punching his arm playfully. He gave me a slight smirk. I began to speak again but quickly stopped, biting my lip harshly when I felt that dizzy feeling again. I could see Nick’s face flash with concern before he even spoke.

“Are you okay?” he breathed out clearly again, his hand finding mine to give it a squeeze.

“I’m fine, Nick,” I said, smiling lightly once my head cleared. It was weird, but I knew it wasn’t really anything. “I’m probably just stressed out, you know?”

His intense eyes raked over me for a long moment, narrowing a little as he thought. But then he sighed and nodded, accepting my answer with only slight reluctance.

“You could’ve told me, you know… that you needed help with your work. I’m no teacher, but you know I’d help you in any way I can.” His eyes were holding that earnest shine again, making my stomach twirl while I smiled.

“I know,” I giggled. I leaned forward and pressed a noisy kiss to his cheek, grinning a little wider when his smooth skin took on a rosy tiny. “I love you,” I murmured against his skin, closing my eyes when he slipped his arms around my waist and clasped his hands together on my lower back.

“I love you, too.”

So maybe things were finally starting to settle down, and that I was glad for. Especially when Nick and I could just be us with no distractions.