An Age Old Tale

“Jared Broad throwing a party, I didn’t think I’d live to see this day.” Elly said as she took a seat on the lounge chair in my backyard. The ball ended an hour ago so we made our way back to my house where Taylor, her friends and their boyfriends and some other teenagers began their ‘after party’.

“There’s barely 20 people inside right now, I don’t think that counts as a party.” I tiredly replied. I took my eyes off the starless night sky and turned to Elly. She was in her police uniform so she must’ve been working the night shift today.

“There’s alcohol, loud music and dancing so I’m pretty sure this constitutes as a party.” She smiled at me as she spoke but I couldn’t figure out why.

“What are you doing here anyway?” I casually asked.

“The station got word of activity at your house so I came to check it out.”

“You guys are watching me?”

“You’re the only suspect in Duncan Adam’s murder so they are trying their best to find some dirt on you.” No surprise there.

“The only dirt you’re going to get here is underage drinking but even that would just be a waste of time for you guys really.”

“Pretty sure Captain Hutch will be more pissed if I bring you in right now.” Both of us released a chuckle at that.

“How was your day though? Anything interesting happen?”

“Not that I can remember. Just woke up and now I am working a double but there hasn’t been a lot of crime this past couple of days. Looks like taking out the Cremwell’s was actually beneficial to the town.”

“My pleasure then.”

“Jared.” I heard a girl call my name. I turned around then saw Rebecca approaching us.

“What’s up Rebecca?” I asked her once she stood on the other side of me.

“Taylor said that she needed to talk to you.” She informed me.

“I thought she would’ve had enough of me tonight.” I sighed then began standing up. “Rebecca, this is Elizabeth. Elizabeth meet Rebecca.” I introduced the two girls. “You girls can chat while I go see what

Taylor needs.”

“Don’t take too long or I might start arresting people.” Elly jokingly threatened me. We smiled at each other before I made my way into the house. The laughter and shouts clearly indicated that they were having a good time or that they were drunk. I didn’t care either way. I saw that Ethan was also chatting to a girl in the lounge so he was clearly enjoying himself but I didn’t see Taylor anywhere downstairs. I made my way up the stairs then spotted her about to come down the stairs.

“Hey, I heard you were looking for me.” I told her as I ushered her into my room so that we could have a conversation without all the noise.

“Yeah. I heard that Logan was in the hospital.” She told me as I leaned against the desk in my room.

“What happened to him?” Hopefully no one found out that I was the culprit.

“Apparently he got drunk and fell in the bathroom and he broke his nose.” Looks like I was in the clear for that at least.

“I guess he got what he deserved. He broke your heart and ended up with a broken nose.” Her smile was unmistakable as she stood by my door. The effect of my spell had all but worn off on her but she still looked beautiful right now. I guess there was something special about the princess after all.

“Thank you. I don’t know how you did it and I don’t want to know but thank you.”

“It was a pleasure.” I gave her a genuine smile and nod. “Now go enjoy yourself with your friends.”

“Yes sir.” She made her way out of my room so I followed her lead and went to go check on my parent’s room to make sure that it was still locked and that no one had somehow opened it. Thankfully it was still locked so I went back to my room to lock it but immediately found Taylor’s friend, Bianca I think, and her boyfriend, probably, making out on my bed.

“I said no Miguel.” Bianca told him as she tried to stop him.

“Come on. You said tonight so let’s do it.” I hope they weren’t talking about having sex on my bed.

“I changed my mind. Just stop please.” He rolled her over so that he was on top then stopped to look at her.

“You can’t just change your mind. We’re going to have sex tonight.” He began unbuckling his belt but still kept Bianca under him. She struggled to stop him but I could see that he was overpowering her so I finally decided to step in and stop this nonsense.

“Miguel right?” I asked him as I walked towards them on the bed.

“Get lost dumbass.” He stopped to look at me and I immediately took a swing at him. I hit him square on the jaw and sent him pummeling off my bed. I turned my attention to Bianca who looked a bit shaken up.

“Sorry about that. Are you okay?” I asked her as she pushed herself up against my headboard.

“Thank you.” She quietly told me. I could see that she was stopping herself from releasing a few tears. I didn’t know if she was afraid to do it in front of me or if she didn’t want to let herself feel weak and vulnerable.

“What do you need?” I asked her as I stood at the edge of the bed.

“B? Where are you?” I heard someone loudly ask then appear in the doorway. “B, there you are.” I recognized the girl, she was another one of Taylor’s friends, Gia if I wasn’t mistaken. She immediately rushed towards Bianca once she saw her.

“What did you do asshole?” Gia angrily asked me as she pushed me away from the bed then embraced Bianca.

“It wasn’t him.” Bianca finally released the tears she was holding back. I went around the other side of the bed and picked up the unconscious idiot.

“I’ll make sure he gets home.” I told them then carried him out of the room.

“Jared, what happened to Miguel?” Taylor asked me when she got me on the staircase.

“Drank a little too much. I’m going to take him home but put this on.” I quickly unhooked my necklace then handed it to her.

“What’s the necklace going to do?” The skepticism in her voice was understandable but I didn’t exactly have time to explain it to her.

“It will keep you safe while I’m gone. Gia and Bianca are in my room.” I directed her then continued descending down the stairs. Once I was outside the house I could instantly feel the difference. I never took off the necklace since my sister gave it to me so this was a new feeling for me. I ignored it and focused on my mission at hand.

“Locate: Miguel’s home.” I activated the simple spell. The spell produced a large light from the sky that could be seen from extremely far away indicating the target location. It actually felt good doing magic without the necklace on. It felt smoother and less restrictive. I took out my phone and called a cab to come pick us up. I didn’t want to waste any magic taking him home since it was going to require more than one spell.

It took me just over an hour to get back to my house but I immediately noticed that the amount of cars outside was down to just 1. I expected the party to still be going on when I came back but this looks like it had fizzled out. It was 2 o’clock in the morning but it was the weekend and they were teenagers so something must’ve happened. I carefully walked up my porch then opened the door but heard talking and laughter so there was still a few people around, excluding the girls.

“Jared, took you long enough.” Ethan lazily threw his arm around my shoulder as I entered the house. The strong smell of alcohol on his breath clearly indicated that he was drunk but I was surprised that he was still able to move around and talk without a lot of slurring. The time on the streets really did boost his endurance, even if it wasn’t the right kind.

“Sorry about that. Got lost trying to find Miguel’s house.” That was true but it wasn’t the whole truth. I looked at the lounge and saw that only 2 guys were seated with the rest of the girls. They had moved the couches so that they all faced the empty wall and laid blankets down on the floor for them to lay on. Looked pretty cozy and definitely like a sleepover now.

“We don’t care about that piece of shit, we just need a movie on that wall.” Ethan said then fell down on the blankets next to Gia.

“Something romantic and funny.” Amber instructed me. That wasn’t useful at all. I made my way to Taylor who was basically cuddling Bianca.

“Are you okay Bianca?” I asked her as I crouched down next to them.

“Yes. Thank you.” She softly replied. I gave her a smile then turned to Taylor whose intense stares were burrowing a hole in my head.

“I need my necklace back.” I told her.

“Why?” She questioned me but still took it off.

“So that I can protect everyone again.” I slowly hooked the necklace back in place then felt the familiar rush of energy enter my body again.

“So the necklace is protecting us, not you.” She concluded.

“Pretty much.” I agreed then stood up. “Okay, I’m going to need everyone to stand up.”

“Why?” This time Rebecca asked me.

“So that I can get this place ready for the movies.” I informed her. They reluctantly stood up but I could see that some of them were a little unsteady on their feet. I recited a spell then watched as everything in the room slowly began disappearing before being replaced. The walls were replaced with much bigger and softer couches while the floor became one huge mattress. There was a projector pointing at the empty wall so that they could watch a movie.

“Wow.” Gia’s excitement instantly rose as she looked around but clung onto one of the boys who I could only assume was her boyfriend which meant that the other one had to be Amber’s.

“Make yourselves comfortable I guess.” I instructed them then gently launched the remote over to Amber. “Just select a movie and press play.”

“This is so cool.” Amber clearly shared in Gia’s excitement. I ignored them then went to the kitchen and got me a glass then the bottle of wine I had hidden so that I could enjoy it. There was nothing more for me to do tonight so I could finally just sit back and relax. I made my way over to the pool chairs again and stretched myself out on it before pouring me a drink.

“It’s kind of cold to be out here relaxing don’t you think?” Rebecca stated. I turned my head then saw Rebecca standing next to me.

“I’ve been through worse.” I replied before turning my attention to the sky. She decided to lounge on the chair next to mine. “I thought it was too cold to be outside.”

“If you can handle it…” She shrugged her shoulders then looked up at the sky as well.

“Transport: Glass.” I lifted my free hand in air then felt the glass land in my hand.

“Are you sure you’re supposed to be using so much magic?”

“I’m all but out for tonight. I need to rest a little but thankfully I have nothing more to do besides acquainting myself with the bottom of this bottle.” I handed a glass to her.

“So, is this like what you do? Rescuing girls at their school dances?”

“I’m just a bodyguard.”

“Bodyguard? You’re more like a fairy godmother.”

“Could I at least a godfather?”

“Where in the history of fairytales have you heard of a fairy godfather?”

“Okay, that’s a fair point I guess.” I smiled at our stupidity as I took small gulp of the delicious wine. “If this is a fairytale then who are you? Evil stepsister perhaps?”

“Fuck you.” Her anger amused me and I spotted the unrelenting smile on her face as well.

“It makes sense though. I’m the fairy godmother so Taylor must be Cinderella which only makes you one of the stepsisters.”

“Cinderella wasn’t the only princess with a fairy godmother you know.”

“Wasn’t there a fairy godmother in one of the Shrek’s as well? You do strike me as an ogre.”

“You’re seriously calling a girl an ogre? You’ve clearly never had a girlfriend and Elizabeth doesn’t count because she has a boyfriend.” She and Elly clearly spoke earlier. I wasn’t surprised that Elly wasn’t here when I came home since she was still on duty. I’ll probably see her soon anyway.

“It’s kind of difficult to have a girlfriend when you’re in hiding for most of your teenage life.” I pointed out but the mood suddenly changed. She must’ve heard about what happened to my family and what I’ve been through as well.

“I’m sorry about what I said about your necklace. Elizabeth told me that it was your sister’s.”

“Yeah. I could never understand her obsession with butterflies.”

“Some girls just like what they like?”

“What’s your weird obsession then?” She was silent as she thought about it for a while. I was surprised that she was being so open right now. Her guard seemed to have fallen with the mention of my tragic past. I just hoped that she wasn’t doing it out of pity.

“I have a collection of teddy bears.”

“That’s not really weird or obsessive.” I replied as I saw her shiver a bit when a cold breeze passed by.

“Transport.” I silently commanded then closed my eyes and chose my target.

“I buy one every time I go to a new place. I think that counts as obsessive.”

“True.” I agreed then held out my hand as I heard shouting inside the house. They couldn’t have been in danger, I think, so they must’ve been playing some sort of game or watching a scary movie. The blanket immediately landed in my hand so I stood up and put it over her.

“I wasn’t getting cold.” She stated. I heard the shuffling of feet then saw everyone running into the backyard. They looked utterly terrified for some reason.

“I heard shouting, what happened?” I scanned them and saw that everyone was accounted for and that they were unharmed.

“Your house is haunted.” Gia angrily stated.

“Yeah, we saw a ghost flying in the passage while we watched the movie.” Ethan added.

“That was just me using magic to bring the blanket down from my room. The windows were all closed to it flew through the house.” I explained. The relief on their faces instantly turned to anger.

“How could you do that to us?” Taylor quickly asked.

“I’m sorry?” I shrugged my shoulders as I apologized but tried my best not to laugh.

“I’m going to kill you.” Taylor threatened me as I saw the guys turning to go back into the house.

“Let’s just go inside, it’s cold out here.” Gia told her then hooked her arm around Taylor and Bianca and dragged them inside the house.

“I don’t think they’re going to sleep tonight.” Rebecca stated.

“They can stay as long as they need to tomorrow before they need to go home.” I took a seat then drained my glass.

“Come lay next to me.” She told me then took a big gulp of the wine in her glass as well.

“I’m fine.” I poured me another drink before relaxing on the chair again.

“You’re going to get sick. We can share the blanket.” Her reasoning was logical but logic was certainly not something I abided by.

“Fine.” I agreed then stood up. The chair certainly wasn’t big enough for the two of us but she seemed more than adamant to get her way right now. It made me question how much she has had to drink tonight already. It certainly was a tight fit but I was comfortable enough. We were both on the slim side of life so it wasn’t a surprise that we could both fit on it.

“So, tell me more about your teddy bear obsession.” I told her as I tried to get our minds out of the awkward atmosphere that was beginning to settle around us.