Eighteen

We decided as a group to explore the Sapphire Generation. There was so many beautiful places to see and so much to do that it made sense. Popkins couldn't tell when the authorities would catch up with us, so it was best to just make the most of the time we had together. Our only rule for now was to stay together.

Mel and Popkins walked along in front, bickering as usual. She was disgruntled that he had sent her to miles eight - ten on the beach in the search for our stones. She pointed out that it was the furthest away from where he had been searching himself and he agreed, simply stating that he could only cope when they were so far away from each other. It was amusing to listen to and I knew that neither of them meant it. It was definitely getting harder for them to hide their feelings for one another.

Maisie and Miles were in front of us, chatting away. They were talking quietly compared to the other two, so I wondered if Maisie was telling him her feelings for Mel again.

I walked along with Jamie at the back of the group. My arm was thrown casually around his waist, my fingers looping in his jeans belt hook. He had his arm around my shoulder, hugging me to him as we dawdled.

"What are we going to do about those two?"

He nodded towards Popkins and Mel who we could still hear arguing. Popkins had helped us change out of the horrible Coal Jailhouse black jumpsuits ages ago. All of us were wearing jeans and different coloured t-shirts, except from the wizard himself. He was wearing a loud and bright button up shirt with pink flowers printed on, finished off with some beige trousers. His trendy spectacles framed his face once again, his raven black hair standing on end, adding to eccentric vibe. He was a total contrast to Mel and her almost white hair with pale eyes and freckles. I had to admit, they made a cute couple. But I worried about Maisie. She was Jamie's sister and she had helped us through so much. I couldn't stand the thought of her being upset.

I shrugged, pulling Jamie tighter to me as we walked along.

"I don't know really. They are like chalk and cheese but they are so right together. Maybe one day they will see sense."

Jamie chuckled, kissing me lightly on the head.

"But where would be the fun in that?" His smile at Mel and Popkins turned to a scowl as he looked at Miles and Maisie.

"I hope Mr Arrogant isn't getting any ideas. He's not good enough for my sister, not in this generation or any."

I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling awkward. I wanted to tell Jamie about what Miles had said to me after we found our Sapphires. I wanted to be honest, but I had to wait until we were alone.

"It's not like that, Miles and Maisie are friends. That's all."

Jamie turned his head, studying me. The thought that I had ever run away from him that morning after our special night, that I had even tried to hypnotise him, made me feel sick. He made my heart beat so fast I felt like it would burst. He made my knees weak. The way he looked at me couldn't even be described, most of the time he looked in my soul rather than at me. The thought of ever losing him again, of ever having to see him tortured once more was too much. He was my everything.

"How do you know? I wouldn't put it past him to hit on her. He strikes me as a sleazy..."

"Jamie!" I cut him off before he could call Miles something unfavourable. "He's not sleazy and trust me, it's not like that. Maisie....she....she wants different things."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Different things? What's that supposed to mean?"

I didn't really know how to answer that. Miles had told me about Maisies feelings for Mel, and he had told me that it wasn't a secret. But I didn't think it was my place to say any more.

"She's your sister babe. I think maybe you should talk to her about it. Use it as a bonding opportunity."

"You're right. I'll talk to her." He was still looking at me, a sly grin spreading across his face. "You called me babe."

My cheeks turned pink, which was ridiculous considering the night we had shared not so long ago.

"Sorry."

He laughed, kissing me again on the head. I would never get tired of just how affectionate he was.

"Sorry? What are you saying sorry for? I liked it. You are so cute."

I pulled away from him, frowning unconvincingly.

"Cute? I'm cute? Ugh."

He proper belly laughed now, pulling me back to him in an instant. His laugh was one of my favourite sounds. It was natural and infectious.

"You're also beautiful. And clever. And funny. And passionate. And sexy. And...."

"WE CAN HEAR YOU YOU KNOW. GET. A. ROOM."

Jamie and I descended into fits of laughter, finding Mel's disgust hilarious. I ignored the pained look Miles shot me, not knowing how to deal with that situation just yet. I had only just learnt how to cope with one man liking me, let alone two. That would have to be a problem to be solved for another day. Popkins scolded Mel for being rude, then all was normal again as they resumed their bickering.

I could see the lavender fields coming into view. The smell and the vision made me feel calm. I linked my fingers with Jamie's, smiling at my surroundings.

"It's so stunning here. I want to see all of it."

"I'm glad you like it. And hey, maybe you will get to see all of it. Maybe the authorities will forget about us."

I snorted, disbelief written all over my face.

"Yeah, sure." I didn't want to think about the fight now. I wanted to enjoy this world with Jamie and my friends. I just wanted to be normal. "But just in case they do come for us, which they will... I want to see your house near the bamboo forest. It sounds lovely."

When we reached the edge of the bamboo forest just a couple of hours later, I realised that lovely wasn't the word. I didn't know how to describe it actually. I was at a loss for words.

When I was a student at Pearl Eds, we once had to look at different parts of the human days. We studied everything because the authorities wanted us to believe that opening up the generations had been in our best interest, that nobody would ever want to go back to the human days when we had exciting generations to explore instead.

One particular lesson, we had to look at the way humans built their accommodation. We looked at everything from apartments, houses, mansions, castles and igloos, plus everything in between. The one that stood out the most to me, that I had often dreamed about since, was a log cabin.

The picture I studied showed a gorgeous, fairly substantial log cabin right in the middle of a human forest of trees. It had something called a hot tub on the balcony which humans could go and relax in. Inside was rustic fires and colourful cushions on squishy sofas, the bedrooms with four poster beds and stunning wild life views.

As I looked up at Jamie's house, I realised it was like the log cabin I studied that day, but better. Instead of one balcony, there were three. Two overlooked the lavender fields and one the bamboo forest. The one overlooking the forest had a huge swimming pool which looked like it dropped right off the balcony thanks to some clever desinging on Jamie's part. The outside was decorated with old fashioned human lamps and twinkling lights. I found it hard to believe that Jamie ever wanted to leave this place, before remembering that because he was one of the Sapphires who the authorities let live, he was basically a slave to them. He probably never had a minute to sit and relax here anyway as he was always working in the other gens delivering blood and stuff, and that made me sad.

Jamie led us up the dark wooden steps, opening the charming front door. The inside was just as pretty as the outside had been. Big, plump beanbags and fluffy cushions were scattered here and there, the log fire was majestic. The kitchen was old fashioned and homely, with a huge oak wood table in the center.

"How many bedrooms has this place got dude? It's huge."

Miles was looking around like the rest of us, clearly impressed. Even Mel had her mouth open in wonder.

"It's got eight bedrooms. I know it seems extravagant considering it was only for me, but when I started building this place, I was angry. I was mad at the torture I had suffered, furious that my Sapphire friends didn't get to live, so I just kept building and it ended up like this. It isn't finished yet but.. "

Jamie shrugged, looking around the place.

"I have seen many places in my time,but this is something else. Well done Jamie. Now, just in case we don't get killed tonight and have the chance to sleep, can I go and pick a bedroom. Please?"

Everyone laughed as Popkins dragged the please out, making him sound like an excited kid.

"Go ahead everyone, pick your rooms out. The only exception is the top floor. That's mine."

They nodded and ran away, even Maisie gliding off hurriedly in the hope to secure a nice room.

Jamie turned to me, pulling me in to him, running a finger down my cheek.

"And what about you? Do you want to go and pick a room or.. ?"

I cut him off, placing a kiss on his soft lips. His breath caught a little, before he kissed me back harder, more urgent. I melted into the feel of him, relishing the taste as we explored each other. I knew without a doubt that I would never get enough of this, of him.

"I was kinda hoping I could bunk in with you?"

He grinned, his eyes full of hunger.

"I think I can make room for you somewhere."

He kissed me again, his hands running through my hair. Nothing ever felt as good as when Jamie was holding me, kissing me. We broke apart as Miles walked in, clearing his throat loudly.

"Mel and Popkins are arguing because they want the same room. It's your house, go and sort it out."

Jamie groaned, kissed me on the cheek then walked off to find them, his footsteps echoeing on the wooden floor as he went.

I looked at Miles, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Do you think you could ease up on the sex shows considering what I told you earlier? It's uncomfortable for me."

I rolled my eyes, folding my arms across my chest.

"It was hardly a sex show Miles. And so what, I'm supposed to stop kissing Jamie in case it hurts your feelings?"

He scowled, leaning against the door frame.

"Wow. Bitchy doesn't look good on you."

I grunted in frustration.

"I'm not trying to be bitchy. I just... I don't know what you want me to do."

"It wouldn't hurt you to just be a little bit more respectful, that's all."

I started to fiddle with my hair, a sure sign that I didn't like this conversation.

"You are going to have to put your jealousy aside and just deal with it. I'm with Jamie. I'm sorry if that... "

"And has he put his jealousy away?"

I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Miles quit leaning on the door frame, standing up straight instead and made his way towards me. His blue eyes never left my face.

"I mean, how does Jamie feel about the fact that I like you?"

I looked down at the floor, unable to meet his eyes.

"He doesn't know."

A low chuckle escaped his mouth.

"I thought as much. I can't imagine he would be over the moon to find out about our chat earlier."

I looked at him now, confused.

"Why? I haven't done anything wrong. Jamie would have no reason to be mad at me. I can't control your feelings."

"Maybe not. But you can control if you tell him the truth. Maybe it's because you don't want to deal with his jealousy and anger. Maybe it's because a little part of you likes me back. Who knows?"

He stared at me, a dimpled smile showing. Just as I was about to tell him how wrong he was, Jamie walked back in shaking his head.

"I've managed to stop them arguing and go in separate rooms for now." He looked at me, then noticed the look on Miles face. "Is everything OK in here?"

I nodded, a little too quickly. Miles just laughed and walked away. Jamie didn't look sure of my response, but we busied ourselves making drinks for everyone. We made hot chocolates, remembering with fondness all the times Popkins had made us one at his cottage in The Emeralds.

The hours whizzed by as we chatted, laughed and played games, then everyone but Mel and Maisie, who didn't need to sleep, got tired. We were all about to say goodnight and get ready for bed, when a huge knock on the front door sounded. We looked at each other, horrified that our perfect day in The Sapphire Generation was about to come to an end.

I stepped close to Jamie, holding his hand. Whatever happened to us, I didn't want to be apart from him. We walked towards the door slowly, full of dread, before Mel shoved us out of the way.

"I'm sick of it. I'm fed up of being happy for a few hours then having it all torn away by the crazy people in charge. If we all die tonight, I am at least going to tell them exactly what I think of them"

Nobody could stop her as she pulled the door open wide, breathing hard with anger.

I put a hand to my mouth, gasping in shock as I saw who faced us at the door.

"Hello daughter." Matthew Perkins grinned wickedly at Mel, his long, blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, his cool eyes, nearly identical to Mel's, glinting in the light. It seemed like he was alone,but you could never tell with the authorities. He wore a long, black trench coat with a red pocket and black skinny jeans. He reached into his pocket, and I was sure he was about to kill us all. Instead, he pulled a bag of blood out and handed it to Mel, easily pushing her to the side as he stepped in the cabin, closing the door behind him. He rubbed his hands together in glee, looking around him at us.

"May I come in?"

He threw Jamie a cursory glance, but walked through to the living the space regardless, grabbing a bean bag and plonking himself in front of the fire. The six of us had no choice but to join him.

I squeezed Jamie's hand, feeling sick at what was to happen next.