Chapter 8: Five

11:14 PM As we sit there, the fog that clouds my mind begins to fade, my stomach settles, surrendering itself to a peaceful treaty between body and brain. The dizziness leaves and I'll I'm left with is a sore abdomen, thirst and confusion. I feel like I've been sick for months and my body, although better, remains weak. I move to stand, and Jax lets go of my hair, placing his hands under my arms to hoist me upright. "Thank you." There's a large bottle of mouthwash near the sink and I gratefully rinse my mouth with water before swishing a shot of Listerine around in my mouth until my cheeks burn. I lean forward, inspecting my reflection for any signs that I'd been sick but there are none. I look exhausted by otherwise okay. There's a knock at the door. "Just a minute please." How long have I've been here? Ten minutes? Fifteen? "Mouse," Xavier's voice comes through the crack of the door, "I thought I told you not to move." "I'm not feeling well. I didn't want to be sick outside in front of everyone." There is a long pause. "Are you okay now?" "Yeah? Can you give me like five more minutes? I'll meet you outside." "I'm sending a search party if you take any longer. I don't want to take my eyes off of you if there is some creep trying to stalk you." Jax rolls his eyes dramatically. "Five minutes, X. I promise I'll be out in five minutes." I strain but can hear Xavier's footfalls as he makes his retreat. Jackson tilts his head to the side as a slow, lazy smile spreads across his face. He's positively adorable when he smiles. He points to himself. "Am I that creep to which Xavier refers?" I laugh. "Afraid so." "Wow. I've barely said two words to the guy. Talk about a rush judgment." "I might have told him you were at my dorm this morning." Understanding flashes across his face. "You're not making this easy on me. Is that why you didn't kick me out when I came to you just now? Xavier told you he didn't know me?" I was too weak to kick him out but he doesn't need to know that so I nod. "Yes, that's why." Now that all was said and done, I'm glad I didn't kick him out. I'm glad he held my hair and rubbed my back. Jax may be looney tunes but he's decent company; kind and caring, and he isn't exactly hard on the eyes. I lower my voice as if Xavier is still standing outside of the door. "Look. X is on a warpath. He thinks you're a threat. Some madman trying to hurt me." "He wouldn't think that if you didn't tell him I was." Jackson looks at me directly, his eyes issuing an invite into his soul. He's offended at the suggestion that he might be trying to hurt me. "I would never hurt you, Lola. I'd die first." "Maybe that's true but it's also beside the point. Trust me, you need to steer clear of him for a while." "Impossible," Jax says. "Hypocrite! You literally said nothing was impossible less than 30 minutes ago. What happened to that?" "I did say that but I cannot stay away from Xavier." "Why not?" "Not unless you do." "Stay away from Xavier?" Jax nods. That's unheard of. "I-I can't." "Then explain to him so he won't want to kick my ass. I love you, Lo, but frankly I don't feel like being on the receiving end of an Xavier Morgan fist-fest. But I'd rather let him pummel me a thousand times over than see you this sick again." I smirk. A boy from my future who says I'm the great love of his life. Absurd. All of it. "Explain to him what? That you're some mystical time traveling Romeo?" "You know something, you sure like to make me repeat myself." "Jax, c'mon. Your whole story is a little far fetched don't you think?" "I'm not trying to say it isn't a stretch but wasn't this proof? You were sick, I made you feel better." "Funny what compassion will do," I say. "You are maddening, woman. Listen. Go. Let Xavier take you back to your dorm. Tell him goodnight and that you'll see him tomorrow. Then come to me. Come to the beach house. You can bring a handgun for all I care. I promise, I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk… to explain myself." Here, in the dark, this close and breathing him in, Jackson Sunday's pleas are hard to ignore. Borderline impossible. He smells like oranges and that incredible pheromone that is like a beacon to most girls… a beacon to me. I am turning into most girls. Damn it. I search his face for any sign that he's bad news, but I can't believe he is. He may be a little out there, but everything inside me tells me it's safe. He's safe. "Okay," I agree. He smirks. "Really?" "Don't make me change my mind." He holds both of his hands up, palm forward. "I don't want that, but try not to wait too long or you'll start feeling sick again." "If what you say is true, which, it can't be, but if we lived in some alternate Universe in time and space where it was true, why aren't you getting sick too?" "Don't fool yourself. I've felt awful most of the day until I saw you tonight. Then," he pauses, "whatever this is," he moves his hands around our bodies, "seems to have chilled out a bit. Maybe I just have a stronger stomach than you. I'm not sure." His eyes dart to the door. "You'd better go, Angel. Xavier is waiting." "Yeah." All of a sudden, the idea of leaving Jackson behind doesn't sit well with me. I have no idea why, but I push the feeling down into my insides. "Goodbye, Jax." "It's not goodbye," he says, "I'll see you later." I slip out the bathroom door and go back to the front porch, where the smile has been wiped clean from Xavier's face. He's sitting on a swing but bolts upright as soon as he sees me. "You okay?" "Fine," I lie. "I've been feeling sick all day. Finally caught up with me I guess." "I didn't find that guy," Xavier says. "It's like he disappeared. Poof." His hands mimic an explosion. "Vanished." I pretend not to care. "Don't worry about it. Can you take me home, please?" "Of course." Xavier wraps his arm around my shoulder. "Sorry I made you come, Mouse. I shouldn't have done that." "It's okay." That one isn't a lie. Sure, I'd been sick but it gave me time with Jax and that was scary, exciting, terrifying and exhilarating all at the exact same time. As we walk to the dorm, Xavier starts to grill me. "So that guy was in your room this morning?" There is no point in lying. "Yes." "Like when you woke up?" I shake my head. "No. I woke up feeling like crap so I headed to the bathroom. When I came out from the bathroom he was there, on Tori's bed. I thought he was her conquest for the night or something but he said he didn't know her." "What the hell was he there for, then?" "I told you already," I say. "He says he was there because I wished for him." Xavier dismisses the suggestion with a laugh but I continue, "I thought you sent him. I thought I'd let it slip what I'd wished for." He stops walking, turning his body to face mine. His shoulders drop slightly as if my words have added weight to them. "You wished for a guy?" I can't tell if he is pitying me or if he's hurt. Or if he's utterly pained by the idea that his best friend could have been so pathetic. "Not a guy, Xavier. It's not like I closed my eyes and wished for a man so I can be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. I wanted someone who…" I pause, unsure whether or not I can bring myself to say it. Xavier waits patiently for me to finish. "I wanted someone who would see me." I feel my eyes fill with tears and I can't keep staring at Xavier, I don't want to blink and let them fall so I look away. "I see you, Mouse," he whispers. His words prompt the stupid little traitors to roll down my face. "I know, but it's not like that with us," I say. "No," he laments. "It's not." "I only wanted to know what it was like. I wanted to be able to feel a connection with someone. I wanted someone to kiss me so I wished for it. When I woke up this morning I certainly didn't expect to see that someone sitting in my dorm room." "I don't like it," Xavier decides. "What if this guy is some peeping Tom who somehow overheard us talking or something and now he's messing with you? What if Leo installed some spy camera in your dorm room and is messing with you?" "Leo?" "Yeah." "One small problem with that theory, Xavier. Leo can hardly manage to send a text message without assistance. The idea that he would possess enough technical know-how to install spy cams, well, that's seriously funny." I would give Xavier's peeping Tom theory its due consideration if not for the fact that I didn't utter a single word out loud about what I'd wished for. Not a word. And that was before consuming the devil whiskey. I don't know where Jackson came from or why he's here, but I want to find out. I start walking again and Xavier follows. "Lola," my name is firm when it leaves his mouth. Demanding. I stop. "I'm not going to let this guy screw with you." "You don't need to worry," I tell him. "I can handle myself just fine." When we get back to the dorm, it takes me a good half hour and several repeated assurances to send Xavier on this way. Tori is sleeping so we stand in the hallway and argue that he doesn't need to sleep on my floor. "Xavier," I say. "I will be fine. I will call you the second my eyes open in the morning. Nothing is going to happen to me. Please, I'm tired. I'm really, really tired and I want to sleep." God, I hope he'll bite. That he'll leave. The mystery of Jackson Nathaniel Sunday awaits me. Xavier lets out a defeated sigh. "Fine. I'll go but if I don't hear from you first thing in the morning, I'm calling the cops and asking questions later." I kiss his cheek. "Night X." "Sweet dreams, Mouse." When he's finally gone, I slip inside to change. I wear a pair of black tights, a black light knit sweater and a black beanie on my head. I might look like a wannabe ninja, but it's perfect for the weather and will let me move around campus undetected. Number 33, Beachfront Avenue is quite the humble abode, for a billionaire. I stand outside and eye the thing skeptically. It's raised from the sand, erected on columns to keep it from floating away at sea. The stairs to the door seem to go on forever, a path to the sky and the infinite possibilities of the universe. It's a steel grey blue color with white trim and shutters. It would easily be on the market at a cool million, maybe more. I have no idea how Jax can afford to stay here. I climb them step by single step, each one igniting butterflies in my belly. When I reach the front, I raise my hand to knock but it swings open. Jax's gaze starts at my toes, then snaps to the black beanie on the top of my head before he smirks. "I was thinking a trench-coat with nothing underneath, but I'll take the hot little street criminal look you got going on too, Angel." "You'll take nothing," I say firmly. He holds his hands up, palms forward. "That's not what I meant and you know it." His arm extends across the door as he makes way for me to pass through. I walk by, inhaling the delectable citrus scent that clings to his skin for a beat too long. "Come in Lola. Welcome to your future."