JC Coldwell's Arc

Chapter 6 of 9

The next morning, Hal knocked on JC's door. The blue ward was gone. The street noise pressed in again, dull and constant. JC braced for it out of habit. But Hal held up two paper cups and grinned. "No plans," Hal said. "No wards. No wizards. Just breakfast at that little potion shop." JC almost said no. A quiet corner alone sounded safer. But he had promised to try. So he pulled on his boots and followed Hal out. The apothecary sat between two taller shops. Its wooden walls glowed warm in the sun. Colored bottles crowded the front windows. Small pots of herbs sat on the sills. Inside, a few customers browsed the shelves. Their thoughts brushed against JC at once. He felt his walls slam up. His face went blank. His shoulders drew tight. Hal noticed. He always noticed. "There he goes," Hal said softly. "The statue." JC hated that. Not because Hal was wrong. Because Hal was right. He wanted to sit here and drink tea and be a normal person for one hour. He did not know how. The moment things got easy, he hid. Hal led him to a small table near the back. He set down the cups. "You don't have to talk," Hal said. "I'll just tell you dumb stories." And he did. He told JC about losing a card game to a man with a frog. He told him about a bet he made on a snail race as a kid. JC listened. The thoughts of strangers still buzzed. But Hal's voice sat on top of them, clear and close. Then Hal reached across the table. He turned JC's hand over and traced a line on his palm, like he was reading it. "This line means you worry too much," Hal said, straight-faced. "And this one means you like me. I checked." JC felt his walls waiting. He felt the old pull to make his face flat and take his hand back. Instead he made himself stay. He looked at Hal's fingers on his skin. He breathed. He did not build the wall. "You're doing it," Hal whispered. "You're just here." "I'm just here," JC said. His voice shook a little. But he smiled. A real one. Small and crooked and his. Hal's eyes went bright. "See? Nothing bad happened." JC laughed, quiet and surprised. For one whole hour he sat in a crowded room and let it be ordinary. He kept his hand in Hal's. The walls never came up. When they left, Hal squeezed his fingers. "That was our first normal date," Hal said. Then his smile flickered, just for a second. "I've got to run an errand later. Alone. It's nothing." JC caught the flicker. Alone. The word snagged. Hal had hidden something before. JC said nothing yet. But he had felt the door in Hal close, just a crack.