The Clairvoyant

Twenty-second | 54 days, 12th hour

Chace waves an eager hand to my way, making me awkwardly wave back with the girls now staring at me as I enter the bakery. Giving him a nod with my head, I sit down on the other side, looking outside the window, the rain coming in like cats and dogs.

“Awful downpour, huh?” He tries a conversation after a few seconds.

I give a shrug, still looking outside. “I think it’s cool.”

“Do you now?”

I turn and face him just in time as Tristan appears, his hands occupied with a tray full of bread and three cups of milk shakes. “I think it’s a lot better than having the sun burn at the back of my neck,” I answer.

“So you’re the type who doesn’t like summer.”

“I never said I didn’t like summer,”

“But you said it’s a lot better,” Tristan chips in, grinning at me.

“’a lot better’ doesn’t really mean I don’t like the said season,” I retort, taking a bite of one of the breads without their consent. They don’t seem to mind though. “Anyway, it’s about… well… Audrey and Colton.”

Tristan raises an eyebrow at me. “Girl talk?”

“Just wondering your opinions on what I’ve got.”

“Shoot.”

I bite my lower lip, then slowly I say, “Audrey’s telling me she’s been fighting with Colton, and since I don’t really know much about Colton-“

“You don’t know much about us too.” Chace interrupts with a grin.

Shooting him a look, I continue: “I was wondering what’s up with him lately. I mean, I know it’s rude to ask, but Audrey seems really down and irritated about it. And well… I’m not really like my sister who knows how to handle her friends.”

“So why didn’t you ask your sister?”

I gave them a shrug. “It seemed better coming from you guys since you know Colton.”

Tristan taps his chin, maybe wanting to seem serious for once but it doesn’t so I just give a small laugh. “Colton’s a quiet guy for as long as I’ve known. Plus, he only became second in hand since Blake appeared last year.”

“As far as I know,” Chace continues when Tristan stopped all of a sudden. “Colton’s from New York. And from what I hear, he ran away from home and came here – then he started fighting and whatever with us.”

I then realize that maybe Chace and Tristan have been together longer than Colton and them, but it’s worth a shot as I ask, “So you know anything about his life from New York?”

“Life from New York, eh?” Chace begins that different accent of his that I can’t figure out. Irish? British? Can’t really tell. “Colton doesn’t talk much, and from what I’ve seen, Auds and Colton began secretly dating just months after he came here.”

If that gave me information, these were the only things I’ve gotten so far: one, around December (it was the time I got exiled from Regis high and Blake started his little group, or something like that) Colton appeared.

Two, Audrey and said guy started dating.

Three. He’s a quiet guy from New York.

Not really useful information.

“So I can actually guess that the calls he’s getting are from people in New York?” I slowly ask them, waiting for their expressions to change. “Unless you guys called him in the middle of their date and all – I can totally understand.”

Tristan wrinkled his eyebrows. “The only time I ever call Colton, is when we’re fighting.”

“The only time I call Colton,” Chace begins afterwards. “Is when I’m hungry.”

“He fights good,” Tristan and Chace begins in unison. Then Tristan continues: “But we’ve only known him since last year. And if you ask us if we hang around with him often, then I’m sorry, sweet, I’m afraid we have to tell you ‘no’.”

Raising an eyebrow, I ask him, “You don’t hang out much?”

“I work day and night,” Tristan grins. And by work, he means satisfying women by whatever needs they have. “And if I ever do need to hang out, I’d hang out with Chace. Ask me this question, sweet, when was the last you saw us?”

“When you guys raided Blake’s hideout?”

Tristan snorted. “Not that, I mean when we don’t fight.”

I squeeze my eyebrows tightly together, thinking. “Not that I can remember of.” The last time was then they kidnapped me. The other time was when they’d been at Cain’s house – and both times it was due to a fight.

“Then how come you went with him when you guys broke it off with Blake?”

Chace shivers in place. “Dude, you make it sound like I broke up with Blake,” He frowns at me. “If you don’t know, I’m perfectly straight. And I’ve got a girlfriend to prove it. And she does not look like a guy at all!”

“I didn’t ask if she looked tomboyish,” I grin at him, then shake my head. “So why?”

“Because of Audrey?”

“What about Audrey?”

“She’s hot,” Chace says, even though he just admitted to having a girlfriend. “What?”

I roll my eyes then look at Tristan who says, “She’s like a younger sister to me.”

“We’ve got a long history behind us,” Chace admits, knocking the fork aside for no reason. “And since Colton’s Audrey’s current boyfriend – it only seems reasonable that he followed us out of the team, right?”

“In short, we followed only because Audrey left.”

I frown at the news.

These three seem really… really… close.

“Oh, but wait, you said Colton came months after Blake became leader. And you guys make it look like Audrey’s been your friends for a long time.” I slowly recall these facts as I point them out. “So does that mean you’ve been delinquents for a long time now?”

“Sweet heart,” Tristan begins biting his raisin bread. “Just because Blake became the leader last year doesn’t mean we weren’t in the same gang last year. It just means Blake defeated the leader, thus he became the leader.”

I can’t imagine their ex-leader losing to Blake.

I wanted to ask about their ex-leader, but it seemed pointless since Colton’s my main target.

“So anything else I should know about Colton?”

“Nothing else,” They both mutter, now preoccupied in their own stuff.

“So umm.., this whole fighting thing… I’m wondering, do you hate Blake?”

Their eyes shot up, and instantly they began laughing. “Hate? Blake? No way,” Chace chortles at me, shaking his head. “The only reason I’m fighting when you say so is because if I don’t, how am I going to get to fight?”

“Same here,” Tristan nods.

“So you don’t hate him?”

“If you ask him who hates him, I’m sure you don’t.” Tristan grins at me as if knowing something about Blake and I. Though honestly speaking, there’s nothing except master and apprentice. “But Audrey does.”

I recall Blake saying he was obsessed with Audrey. Hurt by me. But after seeing him with Chey two nights ago, who can say the guy’s still obsessed with her?

“What about Colton?”

“I don’t think so,” Chace mutters, now looking at the tray. “If hate is defined as ‘always fighting against each other because they have a score to settle in terms of strength, then yes, Colton hates Blake.”

I frown at Chace, and he gives me that What? look.

“But if you define ‘hate’ as Colton talking to Blake despite walking out of the gang – not that I’m saying I haven’t talked to Blake either,” Tristan eyes me, but I nod so he continues to talk. “Then yes, Colton hates Blake.”

“They’re talking to one another sometimes?”

“I’ve seen them talk lately,” Chace agrees, taking a sip from his shake. “Not all the time.”

“Even with this fight ongoing, I think the only reason why Blake hasn’t even given an all-out attack is because we know you’re too weak at the moment.” Tristan gives me an apologetic smile, but I know it’s true.

Blake’s grown strong since the time we haven’t seen each other.

Truth be told, other than Audrey wanting to get back at him for keeping her forcefully by his side since up until recently, the only reason I’m fighting is because I want to surpass him in strength. I want to prove I’ve grown stronger.

I want to show him I’m not the useless fighter he fought with a year ago.

And these guys, Colton included, they’re only fighting because they want to fight.

And by ‘fight’, they mean useless brawl-type fights. They just want to get fit.

Finally, the three of us settle into finishing up our snacks. When I’m almost done however, Tristan slowly looks at me with these questioning eyes, and I ask him what’s wrong to which he answers there’s nothing wrong.

Nothing at all.

But then he goes:

“However, if you ask me, Stella, I think you shouldn’t worry about Colton. The guy’s as hard as brick,” He explains to me slowly. “And by ‘hard as a brick’, I don’t mean literally. I mean, when he’s made his decision, that’s final.”

I try to understand, but with the things going on now, I can’t seem to understand anything about Colton. When Audrey calls me again next time, what am I going to tell her? That I pointlessly interrogated Tristan and Chace and came up with no answers as to who’s calling Colton?

“But if you really want to know who’s calling Colton,” Chace bites his lower lip, and I think he’s come up with an idea after our little lunch s***h snack time. “I think Blake would know.”

My phone buzzes in my pocket.

Fishing it out, I see I’ve gotten a message from Cain.

“You at home?” He asks me.

To which I answer, “No.”

“Where are you?”

I look up at the apartment building in front of me.

“Blake’s place,” I reply then take the stairs onto the seventh floor. I knock on the door, and when no one answers, I knock on it again. I feel myself slowly growing awkward and dumbfounded seconds after seconds of waiting.

Then finally I hear locks being unlocked as Cain replied, “What the hell are you doing there?”

And I don’t reply since Blake’s already opened the door.

He’s wearing basketball shorts that reaches just to his knees, and then his chest his bare. Except for the few scars I know the story behind, and the six-pack, there’s hardly a hair on his chest which I find disturbingly… gay-ish.

“El?”

“B,” I give him a curt nod. “Can I…” It seems a little weird to ask him.

“Come in?” He continues for me, then nods and steps aside. I walk in warily, then see the whole place still the same as it was a year ago. I know Blake doesn’t live with his younger siblings. He’s been living with himself since I was a first year in high school.

Except for the few shorts on the floor, which he bent down to pluck it off, everything was awfully neat. Something you don’t usually expect from a guy. A guy who’s leader of a gang of delinquents on top of that.

“Have you started drinking coffee already or you still want milk?” He’s giving me a smile, like it used to be in the past.

“I haven’t started drinking coffee yet,” I reply, sinking down onto the sofa.

He walks into his kitchen and I can hear the refrigerator being opened. “Did you come here about Chey? Because honestly, even if you tell me not to, I’m still going to see her. I really didn’t see you or Audrey in her.”

“We’re fighting so I don’t really care,” I remember our fight. I’m surprised at myself I’m not blaming him for it. “But if she does come home one night later, crying her heart out at being forced to stay with you, I’m pressing charges for stalking.”

Blake comes back holding two cups. One I know is coffee, and the other a glass of… juice?

“I don’t have milk, sorry.” He mutters, sinking at the seat in front of me. “I only used to buy milk because you loved it back then.”

Remembering how it was back at his hideout, the first time we’d seen each other in a year, I find it surprisingly funny at how harsh we were. And then right now, we’re sitting across one another. Drinking coffee and apple juice.

“If you didn’t come here to talk about Chey, what did you come here for?” He asks moments later.

I put down the drink in my hand, then say the word, “Colton.”

“So I guess Audrey’s telling you how Colton’s not telling him something?” Blake asks me as if he’s heard of this countless of times already. “I didn’t hear from Colton, but I knew Audrey. She was like that, towards Chace and Tristan though.”

I remember feeling the three of them close.

I guess that’s what they meant about “close”.

“Yeah, she tells me Colton’s been on the phone a lot more lately, and she’s feeling troubled.” I admit, eyes now staring at the glass. “As her friend, I don’t really know what to say to ease her out of that feeling.”

Blake places his mug on the table, then stretched his arms over his head and crossed them behind it seconds later. “Why didn’t you ask Chey? Because you two are fighting right now and your pride’s still high?”

“Not really,” I mutter, looking down.

I remember again how I told Tristan and Chace it seemed better coming from them. That was half the truth. The other half was of me having that pride still high in the air, and I don’t break it off just two days after initiating a fight.

“I talked with Tristan and Chace a while ago. They gave me nothing. And like you said, I still have high pride especially since I initiated the fight when I saw you guys together that night.” I watch his careful movements. He’s not reacting. “So I went to you.”

Blake gives me a nod. “If you’re wondering about why Colton’s been on the phone lately, then I know. I’m one of the few people he trusts here in Eau Clare after all. The other being Audrey – but since this is about Audrey, he can’t really tell her.”

“So can you tell me?”

He crosses his heart with a finger. “Can’t do.”

“Why not?”

“Because, Stella, it’s a secret between men.”

I stare at him, wondering if it’s really Blake I’m talking to. If he’s keeping secrets now, over the year we haven’t seen each other, then he must have really changed into someone else entirely. And by entirely, I mean a whole different person.

That’s what I was thinking, until he suddenly began laughing hysterically.

“You should’ve seen your face,” He points at me, now crouching and holding his stomach as he continues to laugh. “It was a look of pure shock and wonder. It’s like you were actually wondering if I was Blake or not!”

Hit the point there, jerk.

“Nah, just kidding, Stella,” He grins at me, now wiping a tear off his left eye. “But seriously, I can’t tell you. But if you’re really serious about wanting to know, come at the hideout on Wednesday night.” He says all serious all of a sudden.

“What’s up with Wednesday night?”

Blake gives me a Cheshire grin. “You’ll see.”