Of Water & Fire Ch. 02

Jasper and I lounged on the patio sofa our legs entwined together, my wet hair pressed against his bare chest, sometimes he just didn't like wearing too many clothes, not that I minded.

The blinds pulled closed making it feel like late afternoon more than late morning. I stared at the television screen still not quite able to shake the feeling that something was happening or coming, I couldn't tell which but I felt a little uneasy. For one, the missing presence of my brothers was bugging me, plus the sickening feeling in my stomach, my intuition was trying to convey something.

I was pulled from the moment by a snort from Jasper as he observed the film on the screen with discontent.

'I don't understand this at all...' he mumbled. I snuggled into him a little closer as i explained.

'Ok Ariel the red headed mermaid is in love with him, but the old sea hag wants him for herself, so she is going to make her sing to steal her voice, because that's what the prince heard.'

'Why is it always princes?'

'Because my love it is Disney and Disney is the ultimate enchantment and fairy tale for little girls and some boys in both worlds, happy endings, the immortal ever after.'

'So where are the sirens?'

'Jasper there are no sirens in the little mermaid.'

'That's a little presumptuous isn't it? to presume that there are only mermaids?'

'It's only make believe Jasper, some people like that, to escape, its not meant to be factually correct, plus we have talking fish and a lobster' I stroked his chest.

'I don't buy it, this could have actually happened' he muttered.

I let out a loud laugh, which then proceeded to become a set of giggles, apparently Jasper thought he was making a valid point.

'What do you find so funny? It could have happened.'

'How exactly could this', I gestured towards the T.V screen, 'have actually happened?'

'Well for one, Trojan or Posideon, the sea god is echoed though mythology and demonology texts, the underwater kingdom could quite obliviously Atlantis, I'm just saying it's not uncommon for the ladies or men of the sea to seek solace with the land walkers.'

He was stroking my knee as he spoke examining the wound there, I'd placed an herb balm on it an hour early and it was already healing. 'I'm sorry' he whispered, rubbing the pink scar forming. 'I've had worse.' I let out a long sigh. 'Not by my hand.' He said sternly.

I didn't turn to see his eyes, I didn't want too. Instead I decided to use distraction tactics; I ran my hand up his chest and stopped over a small scar near his collarbone, tracing the outline with my fingers lightly. "How about we put on Fantasia and you can tell me how you known a guy who that happened to?' He laughed and hugged me a little closer, 'Forget that I want see how this bad boy finishes up, that hags got it coming.'

I felt more comfortable and relaxed; I gazed down at Jasper's arm's engulfing me, small scars in various shapes and sizes covered the areas from his elbows to wrists on both arms. I knew many were injuries from training and duels but the thought of him hurt still made me feel angry that an attacker had has the impertinence to mark him and leave a scar. I didn't know about as much of Jasper's past as I would like, but I never pushed him to tell me and most of what Amy, his mother had told my father I heard anyway, He knew I knew more than he'd like.

Jasper and his mother Amy Di Angelo came to our home when Jasper was ten. I remembered when they arrived covered with black capes and soaking wet in the early hours of a cold and damp november morning, the weather was unsettled and I couldn't sleep that night. At the age of seven my father thought it was just the lightening that scarred me, but the truth was I'd dreamt of them arriving at Collingwood. I'd sat at the high bar stool in the kitchen with my warm milk, the door splayed wide open from a gust of wind as they came into the hall, their travelling clothes dripping on the tiled floor. My father embraced Amy and took them both into the study, never to be left behind I jumped down and followed sitting in an arm chair and listening, freighting sleep and trying to puzzle together pieces of their conversation. There had been a rebellion in Southern Italy, a wizard in some way known or related to Jasper's father had caused something to erupt within the south and Jasper's father, Benedict had been killed, the details of which I couldn't remember clearly. Amy was inconsolable as she described how she frantically searched their home trying to find Jasper, who it turned out had fled to the stables. In the stables, Jasper had confronted a group of three men trying to steal horses, trying to protect what was his father's property; he tried to use the small knowledge of magic he had to challenge them. But like with most wizards our powers weren't suppose to manifest and develop until puberty.

Jasper had told my father the details, he was afraid of hurting his mother any more than she was hurting already; he sat on the sofa in the study some days later his feet just touching the floor, my father beside him as he relaying the tale. I drew pictures at the desk, and remember looking at him and thinking how brave he was. The first attacker whom he recognised as Paris, had thrown him in the air as the other laughed and mocked him, using Italian words I didn't understand but from the expression on my father's face they apparently weren't pleasant. They had played with him for a few moments, throwing him around and trying out mild magic, until a masked man stepped forward and threw a fireball towards some abandoned hay, putting a dampen on their play but setting the barn ablaze as Jasper lay unconscious inside. The next thing Jasper's remembered was being dragged from the barn by a horse with her foul, gasping for air. The burns to his arms were the worst but now only a few lines and patches remained. There were many sessions like that over the first initial few months at Collingwood estate with my father and Jasper. Elliot and Max tried hard to befriend him but he was detached, his childhood robbed from him, a blank expression plagued his face as he sank into his own world. At this time I was my father's shadow and for many months Jasper sat in the study silently reading from books as my father taught me lessons about demonology history, myths and legends. Officially things I wasn't suppose to learn until I was nine like Elliot, but I loved history and anything my father gave me from my own classes was often boring and I got easily distracted. The first time Jasper ever spoke to me was to criticise, I was laid on the study floor carpet playing with runes, not a typical pass time but Elliot and Max had gone off to play guardians and I wasn't allowed to play, because I was a girl. I look back now and enjoy the irony of the situation.

I was throwing them like dices and trying to remember there names and meanings. I wasn't very good and from the snigger in the door way I definitely knew I wasn't any good.

I was looking at Jera rune and trying to pronounce it clearly when Jasper snatched the rune from my hand and stared at it frowning, I watched his expression before asking. 'Do you know about runes, you can help me?' I picked up the runes and offered them to him with a smile, he scooped them from me and threw them across the room, they scattered and bounced on the wooden floor. He stared at me his grey eyes ebbing with power like a flashing light. 'Little girls shouldn't play with things they don't understand!' he shouted, his voice strong with an echo.

I dropped to the floor and desperately tried to pick up all the pieces, before I could register I was crying, I couldn't find the last rune and without it there would be only 24 runes and it did not make a full set. Jasper had knelt beside me looking under the furniture as well, he picked up Eihwaz and handed it to me, I snatched it away and left not looking into his face in case those grey eyes scared me again. I'd never been scared of anything or anyone before, I'd seen demons, wizards and even meet other super naturals but those eyes had scared me and penetrated my mind. I decided to stay away from Jasper Di Angelo.

It continued like that for months, even years after Jasper arrived. My father took responsibility for Jasper with the council to ensure his teaching continued and his magical abilities developed. My father began teaching Jasper the basics which unfortunately for me, was at the same time as my lessons. I began to hate sharing the study with him, it had been my haven and now he was encroaching on my territory, I didn't like it. We very rarely spoke and when we did it consisted of mono syllabic words, I never made eye contact. Amy noticed my change in behaviour and tried to talk to me, she knelt over my bed, her chocolate wide eyes blinking down in concern, her long curls falling onto my arms. Time after time spent telling me tales of fairies and witches, making me laugh with silly faces and accents. She became the mother I longed for and I became the daughter she never had.

Over the following months Elliot and Max found a way to bring Jasper from his shell, with duelling and weapons, boy's games. Although that journey wasn't easy, it took three years to finally get through effectively without violent outbrusts. Trauma affects people in different ways. My father encouraged the behaviour to increase his interpersonal skills.

Jasper told me later that the experiences with my brothers lead him to make an oath with himself and the Guardianship. That he would never be afraid again, he would learn how to defend himself, to be strong and to defend the Collingwood name as his own.

I used to forget that Jasper wasn't actually a Collingwood, he went everywhere with our family with my father. He became part of our lives and gradually over time I changed towards him becoming friendlier and open with him just as I did Elliott and Max, he became my friend.

He never joined Elliott and Max in teasing when I got my braces or when I bought home my first boyfriend at fourteen, he stayed impartial, I trusted him and on occasions I turned to him for advice. The steady ground between us was about to become a little uneven a couple of years later as we overstepped the mark.

I began self-defence classes the summer I turned sixteen, Max had taught me the usual how to inactivate an attacker, spots to hit punch or bite, Not your typical self-defence moves and many which I sure my father never approved of, however, he didn't question Max's methods or my decision to learn.

One afternoon in July I sat on the grass verge near the small boating lake about ten minutes walk from the house, the sun was hot on my skin and there was a blissful cool breeze every twenty minutes or so. It was a perfect summer day. I dozed lazily and rolled on my back, staring up at the endless blue sky. A figure appeared above me blocking the sun; I squinted to get a clear view and gave off a small laugh, 'Get out of my sun DI Angelo!' I tapped his bare calf and he dropped down next to me.

'I've been looking for you; Max wants to know why you're not training.' Jasper brushed his hair back with his hand and frowned at me. I perched up on elbows and sighed. 'It's a beautiful day and I just wanted a little quiet time.' He nodded thoughtfully, 'Do you want me to stay?' He picked my abandoned book and thumbed the folded pages. 'You I don't mind.' I dropped back onto the grass; then jumped slightly and sat forward, 'Shit!' I started frenetically rubbing my thigh, 'Something stung me!'

Jasper removed my hand carefully with his own and observed the area on the inside of my left leg, he touched it delicately, his hands were cool, I leaped slightly at the temperature difference, 'Keep still Evie, It looks like a wasp or bee sting, I'm going to try and get it out.' He lowered his head to my thigh. I slapped his arm, 'What the hell are you doing?'

He sighed and gave me a disapproving look, 'I need to get the sting out before the whole area swells.'

He lent over and started kneading the redden area of my leg with his cool hands, then started to bite down suddenly the sting didn't seem that important, it felt good and I let out a slight noise of enjoyment which I casually covered with a cough, I grabbed the back of his shirt as a tugging sensation caused a little discomfort.

Jasper sat up and spat, rubbing his mouth and then my leg, a small droplet of blood appeared and it was clean. He rubbed the area and stared up a slight smirk on his face. 'Thank you.' I mumbled, watching him still rubbing my thigh, I sat further forward dislodging his hold and came into contact with two grey eyes a few inches from mine. I gasped slightly at the close proximity and turned to look away; Jasper caught my chin in a hold and gently pulled back to his face.

'Why do you never look at me Evie?' his voice was forced, he sounded hurt.

'I always look at you Jasper'

I could feel my cheeks starting to burn as the cool breeze arrived at its timely interval, averting my eyes, looking instead at his nose, his lips, and his ears. Realising for the first time how gorgeously handsome he was.

Jasper dropped his hand and pulled back shaking his head, 'No, you never really look at me, why is that?' he narrowed his eyes.

'You..your eyes scare me' I muttered focusing on his kneeling position in front of me.

'Are you scared of me Evie?' I shook my head to demonstrate a no.

'I'm not scared but sometimes your eyes, the way you look at me' I hugged my arms and looked over the lake, the water rippled in a harmonized cadence.

'How do I look at you Evie?' I frowned at him and snatched up my book, carefully not to meet his eyes, getting up awkwardly as Jasper caught my arm to steady me. He brushed some rogue grass strands from my back his hand lingering on the contact.

'How do I look at you Evie?' he repested.

I let out a long unsteady breath stepping back from his touch, gripped the book closer to my chest until my knuckles were white. I glanced at his face briefly, his expression was blank. My stomach started to knot and I suddenly felt very self conscious and nervous. Jasper wasn't my brother, something i'd known all along but now seemed so important.

I turned abruptly and all but ran back to the house to escape my confusion, as I reached the main entrance; my father's car was heading towards the main gate. I stopped at the grasses edge and watched it disappear on to the road.

'Eva!' Jasper shouted behind me, I could hear him pounding at a run on the ground beneath my feet. I headed over the pebbles and into the house taking two steps at a time up the stairs until I reached my room, slowly closing the door behind me.

I was completely freaking out, in some strange way I knew I had feelings for Jasper, but it was just a school girl crush, I wasn't naïve enough to think he felt the same, was I? Now I wasn't too sure. I'd never thought of him as my brother, I didn't love him like I loved Elliott and Max but I did love him. I hit my head with the book and began pacing the room. 'Stupid stupid Eva.' A soft knock came from my door, 'Can I come in?' Jasper's voice was soft.

I crossed the room and locked the door, I didn't fear him but I feared his rejection, he couldn't think the same about me. Maybe I could just avoid him for a while, Go and stay with friends for the rest of the summer and just not have to see him everyday. I looked at the solid oak door and gulped,

'I don't think that's a good idea.' I murmured.

I heard his footsteps dissipate down the landing and let of a relieved sigh. Then I realised something totally relevant, that I shared an adjoining bathroom with Max, I stumbled to the bathroom door and grabbed the handle but Jasper bet me to it, pulling it open from the inside and stepping into me. We stood there for a moment just staring at each other, I didn't even realise he had a hold of my upper arms until he began to stroke them with his thumbs. He bent over inching his face close to mine, I jerked back but got absolutely nowhere, my eyes darted from left to right trying to read his expression. He chuckled 'Now you look at me, do I have your attention now?' He kissed me softly, his lips were cool against mine, small tentative kisses until my brain kicked in and I started to kiss him back. I threw my arms around his neck and pressed into him, as he moved one hand to the base of my back the other ran up my spine and twisted in my hair near the base of my skull. We shuffled back until we hit the bed frame and fell onto the mattress, I heard a thud, thud as Jasper discarded his shoes and we jostled further up the bed, never breaking off or away.

I unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it down with my hands, he pulled back to pull it off and I took the opportunity to lose an item; I pulled the vest over my head and threw it aside. I felt the heat rising from my stomach as his danced his finger across my navel and then up to my ribs. His eyes blazed a shinning grey but this time I wasn't scarred, I was excited. I ran a hand down his chest and he took a ragged breath. 'Evie' he growled, pouncing on me for another deep kiss, I pulled back breathless as he kissed my throat then my chest. He ran his tongue down to my navel and around the sensitive area near my pelvic bone. I gasped and arched upwards, gripping his shoulders and digging my nails in.

It felt so right, being with him. No awkwardness, no doubt or wondering. The way he touched me, the way I retaliated was instinct.

He teased me, biting gently and tugging at skin, until I whispered a very undesirable and unlady like word. He followed the pattern back to my mouth and smoothed my hair from my face with his hands. I ran my index finger up and down his muscled back and spine, tracing random patterns, lingering at the lower back and tugging slightly at the elastic of his boxers. He grinned and shambled off the bed pushing them off, I sat forward and removed the last remaining of my clothes and perching on my knees as his eyes ran over my body. I shivered at his gaze and gave a small giggle, resting my chin against my shoulder. He blinked spatially for a moment then pressed either arm against me on the mattress, his warm breathe tickled my neck, 'so beautiful' he said gently kissing under my ear lobe.

As we fell back into the pillows, I could feel him hard against my leg, I rubbed gently with my thigh and heard he moan in between kisses, I moved my hand between us and teased him gently, moving my hand up and around. He arched back as I bit down on my lip. 'Seductorre' He moaned. I laughed loudly and arched up to meet him, a girl can only wait so long.

I woke up very comfortable in my bed afterwards to the rays of orange and red dancing through my window and two tanned arms holding me close to a warm chest. I wriggled slightly and disengaged from Jasper's grip, replacing the shape of me with a very fluffy pillow.

I scooted towards the bathroom and accidentally stubbed my toe on a chest of drawers; I yelped and covered my mouth, hobbling into the bathroom and cursed myself through muffled whispers. I set the shower going and stepped under the force, running a finger over my lips and cheeks, and smiled to myself.

The hot water beat down on my front and over my face, I squashed the bottle of lemon shower gel into my palm and rubbed it over my skin. I stood eyes closed and drank in the lemon scent. I sudden thought popped into my mind. How would my father react to this? I panicked at the prospect he'd always been a little over protective but this time, this could cause serious trouble. Jasper had just been accepted and started training as a Guardian and had been accepted as a council delegate until his training was complete, my father was his guarantor until he proved himself to the council.