Spectators

There were plenty of questions that I would have liked to ask Chad and his grandfather about the exchange of words we'd just had, but seeing as I could no longer see the shop itself anymore, I settled for berating Chad with those questions instead.

Apparently, when someone is forced out of the witch's herb shop, they lose the ability to notice it until the old man decides they can come back. Fenix and Chad would likely be able to return there eventually, and I would never see the shop again. The mere concept of it was somewhat baffling. Since Hunter first came into my life, I had grown to accept that the supernatural was natural and strange things were a part of my world. Yet this was a new branch of madness.

The three of us had decided to settle down and eat at a nearby diner and talk. Chad was fuming uncharacteristically about being teleported out before his shift was over, but he answered my questions in between complaints. He was showing a side of himself that I had never seen before, and I wasn't quite sure how to handle him.

"Have you...have you been putting on an act since we first met? At school, at practice, at the movies, were you just putting on a show this whole time?" I asked him straight. "You knew about the werewolves and demons from the start, and just kept it quiet?"

He looked at me with the slightest hint of regret and shook his head. "Yes and no. Yes, I have known all of the shapeshifters in town since shortly after they first transformed. And I was aware of the Angels' arrival in Viridian the same day they arrived. But I wouldn't call it all an act. I kept secrets just like you have, and just like plenty of people do. Just because I didn't tell you that I knew what was going on doesn't mean I was pretending to be your friend. I hang out with you because I think you're really cool."

I scoffed a bit, "You aren't acting like we're friends right now."

His irritated scowl softened immediately and the edge in his voice fell away as he looked from me to the quietly watching child beside me and back. "Sorry, that's my bad. I don't usually spend time with friends on days where I work in the shop. All that magic in the air kind of makes a guy volatile after a while."

Fenix had been silently stuffing his mouth with bagels and cream cheese as we talked, but he chose that moment to chime in. "No kidding! That place is like being under a mile of water!" he dropped the bagel in his hand to gesture dramatically while he said that and it was the most adorable thing I'd seen all day. He mimicked waves flowing above his head and then stopped when he noticed there was still food on his plate. He seemed to have completely shrugged off the experience and was totally fine with the idea.

As for me, I had a shaky understanding of what Chad meant by that. A flash back of the day I'd gone after the Blakes for revenge came to mind. "My grandpa does a pretty decent job of keeping a low profile and a level head, but I'm sure you can imagine how hard it can be being around people that intense. The more powerful a creature is, the harder they are to manage," he said with a wildly familiar knowing grin. Yeah, that's the baseball player I know alright

"Okay, but who is he? Or what is he?" The questions in my mind returned to attention.

"Grandpa is just a great witch, I'm not sure how to answer that Jake. He's about as human as you are me, but ten times more powerful. He's one of the older folk in town that work in the background to keep normal people safe from...excessive harm."

"How powerful are we talking"?

Chad answered matter-of-factly, "He's pretty far above any of the other elders in town even though I'm pretty sure there are some older dudes in that group. Grandpa is probably on the same level as the shifter's royalty and maybe the highest-ranking angels in the world. At least as long as he's near the shop."

I blinked; this didn't make sense. It was hard to keep the excitement and confusion out of my voice, "I don't understand. If your family is that strong and you've known about what has been going on this whole time, why have you guys done Nothing to help Hunter's pack?" there was a bit of anger leaking out with those words, but I couldn't hide it. "They wouldn't have had to reveal themselves and none of this would have been necessary. You could have made a difference in this war!"

His expression turned from warm to bitterly cold and only his eyes rose to meet mine. It hit me that he'd been referring them as angels instead of demons. "What makes you think we want anything to do with your war?"

I opened my mouth to give an obvious answer, but nothing came out and I grimaced realizing that I didn't have one yet. My stupid brain formed counter-arguments to any of the suggestions that would have worked leaving an awkward sounding scoff.

"Listen, Jake. I get it. You were swept into the supernatural side of things and chose a side that makes you happy. But that doesn't make it the right one, and doesn't mean we have any reason to get involved. We keep normal people safe from all threats that we can, and for the most part, we've done well. My family has worked with the shifter pack many times in the past, and Hunter's dad knows the elders by name, but that isn't an alliance.

"Werewolves can do just as much harm as demons. The stories of magical creatures all have different sides and perspectives, but through it all there is one common truth. Power reflects the true nature of the individual, and great power has a way of getting out of control."

It annoyed me to think about it, but he was right. An out-of-control werewolf is how I got pulled into this in the first place. I knew why I could trust Hunter now, but from someone else's view it wouldn't be the same.

"I don't judge you in the slightest for defending your boyfriend, and I wont question why you call the Blakes demons. But I would like you to recognize that this is a personal war, that escalated over millennia because both sides have issues. So when we leave here, let's keep it the way it has been. We're friends, not allies in a battle, and I would prefer to not speak about this again."

I was deeply annoyed by the logic in what he said, and I was growing too tired to think of responses. I looked at Fen who was playing around in his own little world and breathing little clouds in the cold air. I hadn't realized it was cold enough to see my breath already, but I was ready to let go and just take us home.

Then a plate shattering against the floor snapped all three of us to attention and we turned to see the waitress collapse onto the floor as if fainting. As I stood up to rush over, a few teenagers that had been sitting on stools by the counter fell over in a heap. Fenix moved closer to me with his hands balled up tight and Chad swore. I saw a couple older gentlemen at a table had slumped over their seats and realized everyone had passed out.

I closed my tired eyes for a moment and it felt like something inside me was fighting just to keep upright. I turned to Chad and growled, "I don't think you and your group will always be able to just sit out and play spectators."

Hello everyone :3

So its been a long time since I wrote a chapter from Jake's perspective, and this was a pretty big one for leading into the next part of the story. I was unsure if I should have put this as chapter 44 instead, but I decided to do it this way and I hope you enjoy what's coming next!