chapter 11.

As predicted the rain came down in torrential waves, soaking everything into a swampy mess of mud. There wasn't going to be much of a break in the next few days, which meant that we couldn't postpone the clean-up even if we wanted to. The board had agreed that it would be better to clean the fairgrounds now before everything got soaked to the core making our job ten times more difficult than it already was. Jannie was displeased, to put it nicely, because she had a long drive back to the city later in the evening and she knew fully well she would have a chill the entire time. Jannie was little and had trouble retaining warmth as it was, the rain soaking through her clothes and matting her skin only made it worse. But she tried her best not to complain, still happy about the take home from the fair and how much money had been raised towards the new recreation centre. I wasn't sure how much of the new building she would use, or even see for that matter, but it was important to her.

I had borrowed a pair of dad's rain-boots and a spare rain jacket that was three times too large for me, but it was the best thing to keep me somewhat dry as I worked through the day. I was on duty to collect garbage that was littered around the fairgrounds, remarking to Jannie about how filthy our little town could be when they wanted to. The amount of discarded straws was enough for Green Peace to send members over to protest our new found landfill, and I wasn't even about to mention the condition around the Port-A-Potties.

To keep myself motivated through the day I thought of how Elaine and I were going to the movies at a quarter after seven, and just how nice it felt to break our normal routine to spend extra time together. If I could, I would spend every second with Elaine. She was, hands down, my favourite person on planet earth. I was so grateful that she wanted to spend as much time with me as I did with her, she never complained about seeing me too much, frankly she complained if she didn't see me enough. It felt nice to have a friend who loved my company so much, which wasn't saying that Jannie didn't, but Jannie had a very busy life of her own and I was only able to get a sliver of her time between all of her various activities.

I was happy that Jannie had such an illustrious life, and I always wished her well. What I wasn't prepared for was for her to leave Harrow Hall for good, and the distance that would put in our friendship. I would make all the effort in the world to retain a friendship with her, but I knew fully well that as time would pass our friendship would outgrow itself naturally. I hated to think that not only was I going to lose Elaine more sooner than later, but Jannie, too. I held tight to the fact that I still had a moderate amount of time with both of them and that I would make the best of every second.

The rain started to come down sideways, making it impossible to keep my face dry, so I decided to take shelter in the fair hall where the pageant was held. It was now partially empty; all of the chairs were folded up and pushed towards the one side of the building, the stage was bare and the drapes taken down so that they could go to the dry-cleaners, and there was a small crew of people disassembling the electronic equipment such as the speaker system and extra lighting. Being this empty it looked almost abandoned, giving it a very eery vibe.

I tried to warm up my freezing cold hands by cupping them around my mouth and blowing into them, but it wasn't working. I would have to dry off for a bit longer before I could head back out to continue cleaning. I hadn't seen Jannie in over an hour, but I was sure she was still outside working through the rain. Jannie rarely took a break when she was working, something that gained her brownie points with every employer she had. Unfortunately I wasn't as persistent as Jannie, and I was slightly more human in terms of needing breaks to prepare myself for the next batch of work.

I heard the doors open nearby, the rain lapping it's way inside even though the doors were only open momentarily as someone made their way through. I continued to blow into my hands, looking over at the doors to see a hooded figure carrying a four-cup drink tray but only filled with two cups. I almost dismissed the person until I saw him pull down his hood, exposing slightly damp golden ringlets. I felt like a young girl again as my heart did a little skip, sending butterflies rushing through my stomach as a smile inadvertently appeared on my face. John looked around the fair hall before looking over to the corner where I was standing, his face lighting up as soon as we made eye contact. He made his way over to me, mouthing hi as he did before extending the drink tray towards me.

"What's all this?" I asked, gently taking the cup from the tray only to bring it up to my nose to take a sniff. He had brought me hot cocoa.

He shrugged, watching as I lapped my hands around the cup to try to warm them. "I couldn't stop thinking about you ---" He paused, his cheeks flushing for a moment before he continued his sentence, "--- and this weather, I figured you were probably freezing. And what person doesn't like hot chocolate?"

"My guess would be zombies, but they'd probably enjoy brain flavouring," I said as he chuckled, shaking his head at me. "Thanks for bringing this, but you really didn't have to."

He watched as I continued to try to warm my hands on the hot cup. "Ah, nonsense. It's no problem, it also gave me an excuse to see you again."

Be still my heart. "Well, in that case, I really appreciate you doing this."

His eyes were still focused on my hands, raising an eyebrow. "Y'know, I hear hot chocolate tastes really good, sometimes people even drink it."

I nodded. "Sometimes that's what people do, and I have, also, heard that it's really delicious."

"Quite," He added, his face breaking into that radiant smile again. "Your hands cold?"

"Understatement of the year. I hate March, pretty sure I resent the spring weather now," I replied, shaking out my hair a little.

He leaned down to place his own cup and tray by his feet, stepping forward to bridge the distance between us. He nodded at my hands as if he was asking permission, taking the cup from me before setting it with his own, then turning back to take my hands in his. He clasped his large hands around my own, bringing them up to his mouth to gently breathe hot air on them. He looked up to me, his deep brown eyes so mesmerizing that I felt like, had this been another era, I would have swooned right then and there. He smiled, a look of confusion crossing his face. He could tell that I was staring at him a bit too much, and now I knew he was taking great pride from it. I rolled my eyes, feeling a smile break out on my face again as I hid my embarrassment. He laughed at me, pulling his mouth away from my hands but keeping his hands around mine.

"I feel like you're giving CPR to my hands," I joked. "Do you think they'll make it, doc?"

He turned my hands around a few times, examining them by gently prodding them in different places before looking at me again. "It's hard to say right now, I better keep trying to revive them."

Finally after a few more seconds, he let go of my hands, much to my dismay, and returned my cup of hot cocoa. I finally took a sip of it, making a noise of enjoyment as I did. He laughed, grabbing his own and gently knocking it up against mine as if he were saying cheers. We drank our hot cocoa in the mediocre warmth of the fair hall, talking for a little while longer about a few random things. Somehow the conversation shifted from every day chit-chat to me asking him about why he came to Harrow Hall instead of staying in Brook.

"It's kind of a long story, I don't want to bore you," He said, but I insisted he continue. "Well, my uncle Fletcher offered me a place to stay in exchange for free labour, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity."

"You didn't want to stay in Brook?" I asked.

"I love the city, I do, but it's really expensive. I'm still repaying my student loans so it's hard to afford an apartment right now, and my job wasn't making enough money to cover rent. It just so happened that Fletcher had an extra room after Hadley moved out, so he offered it up to me. It helps, that's for sure."

"Hadley moved out?" I knew where this was headed and I wanted to stop it before it did, but I couldn't help but enquire.

"Yeah, about a month ago. She's been dating this guy for awhile and I guess they're getting pretty serious. You might know him, Atheson Micaelchek?" He asked, but I wasn't able to respond. He shrugged it off, not thinking anything more of it. "Any ways, that left space for me, so I'm kinda glad for it."

"You like doing construction? Not to offend, but it doesn't seem like something you would be interested in."

He laughed. "My dad was a carpenter, so I have experience. I don't mind it, but it's definitely not the type of job I want to do for the rest of my life. I'll probably only stick with it for a few months until I can secure the job I actually want."

I hated to think that John would never be able to achieve his dream of becoming a social worker, that fairly soon he would meet his end. The thought depressed me, trying to hide it but clearly it had shown on my face. He looked concerned, and shook his head as if he had spoken out of line.

"I'm sorry, I'm talking way too much about myself. What about you? Is there something you want to do in the future?" He asked, sipping away at his hot cocoa.

I hadn't thought too far into the future because it felt like I was too often living in the future instead of the present, especially given my gift, so I liked to try to live day by day. Once upon a time I thought I would have liked to open my own bakery that specialized in wedding cakes, but I didn't have near enough experience on the side of running my own business as well as baking. I had put my dreams on hold, allowing myself to live purely in the moment so that I could try not to disappoint myself with failure. But I couldn't tell John that, instead I opted to tell him that I was happy with my job right now and that the future could wait because I still had my whole life in front of me. He accepted my answer, appreciating that I wasn't in any rush to figure things out.

"Yeah, there's actually something a bit funny about Hadley," I said, nervously shuffling my foot. I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but I figured that it was probably best that John hear about Atheson from me rather than from someone else. "The guy she's dating? He's my ex."

John looked shocked, but not in the way that meant he thought less of me or that he was even awkward about the situation, more so that Atheson was my ex-boyfriend. "Really? God, what a small world, hey?" He said, pausing for a moment as he thought it through. "On the other hand – really? Him?"

I scoffed, playfully nudging him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged, chewing at his cheek for a moment as he looked down at his shoes. "He just doesn't strike me as your type."

"I don't think I necessarily have a type," I replied. "Do you?"

I didn't want to admit that I already knew what kind of girl he liked, given that the one from his pictures on his Facebook page must have been his ex-girlfriend, or at least someone he had been seeing for awhile.

"Maybe I'll keep you guessing, and you'll just have to figure it out for yourself," He teased, almost like he was flirting with me. "But don't feel embarrassed about your ex, I'm kind of in a weird position, too."

He left me hanging for a minute, which kept me on edge as to what he was going to say. God forbid he has a girlfriend while I've been spending the majority of my time flirting with him, I would hate myself if that were the case. But he didn't strike me as the type of man to be disloyal. "Well, I got out of long-term relationship almost a year ago, but I lived with her for almost eight months after we broke-up. Y'know, because I was down on my luck and couldn't afford my own place."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," I stopped myself, realizing that it sounded like I was apologizing for him being stuck with his ex-girlfriend, "--- I mean for being down on your luck."

He chuckled softly. "I know what you meant."

"So that's why you're here? Because she kicked you out or because you wanted to leave?"

"Well, I'd like to say it was either one of those things, but it really boiled down to the fact that she started dating my best friend, and had been for quite awhile. I figured it was going to get awkward, so I dipped out of there faster than a chicken nugget in plum sauce." I laughed internally at his phrase, managing to keep a straight face on the outside. "So, like I said, I'm in a weird situation, too. Don't feel bad."

"Yeah, no kidding," I said, shaking my head as I finally laughed. "Sorry, I'm not laughing at your situation, I'm just stuck on the fact that you said faster than a chicken nugget in plum sauce."

He laughed in return. "I can be cute sometimes."

"Yeah, you can," I slipped, hearing him chuckle as my cheeks went red hot again. I wanted to smack myself in the face, but clearly he enjoyed what I had said. I instantly changed the conversation, trying to draw away from how bright red I knew my face was. "I should really get back to cleaning, but thanks again for the hot cocoa. It definitely helped me not hate today as much as I did earlier."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere," He said, walking over to the nearest garbage can to dispose of his empty cup before returning to my side. "I figure since I'm already here I can help you out."

I placed my hand on his forearm reassuringly. "You really don't have to do that, I don't want you to waste your Sunday doing this nonsense."

He placed his hand over top of mine. "I don't mind, Ellion. Besides, two makes the work go faster, correct?"

I nodded, unable to peel my eyes away from the smile that engulfed his face. I finished the last of my drink before preparing myself for the elements once more, but the rain seemed to be a little bit softer than it was earlier. The rest of the day was bearable, especially given that I had John working with me. We worked hard, but stayed heavy in conversation the entire time. We joked around about various things and talked about ourselves, trying to get to know each other. He later would go on to tell me that his ex-girlfriend's name was Nora, but beyond that he didn't mention much more about her. I could tell by the few things he mentioned that he had distanced himself from her, and I hoped that meant that he wasn't going to go running back to her. I already felt such a strong connection to him, and I would be lying if I said that part of me was excited to see where things could go. But I was still plagued with the knowledge that I had a very limited amount of time to spend with him, that is if I didn't find a way to stop him from being murdered.

Once we were finished for the day, we met up with Jannie in the fair hall. She had been my ride over to the fairgrounds, figuring it was more fuel efficient to take one vehicle. I could see that she was intrigued by John, introducing herself very quickly but also making herself scarce. I didn't want my time with him to end, but I had already promised Elaine that I was going to take her to the premiere of the movie that she was dying to see.

"Would you like to go out for dinner?" He asked, toying gently with his car keys.

I didn't hesitate to say yes. "I would love to. I can give you my phone number and you can call me whenever you want to go out."

He chuckled softly. "I meant do you want to go out for dinner right now?"

I blushed. "Right now?"

"I've really enjoyed spending the day with you, and if I'm being completely honest, I don't want it to end yet," He added.

I wanted to so badly, but I couldn't bail on the plans that I had made with Elaine, especially given how excited she was. "I really want to, trust me. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I promised my friend Elaine that I would take her to the movies tonight."

He looked disappointed, but tried to mask it with a knowing smile. "Oh, that's alright. I understand."

My stomach twisted and turned in knots, not wanting our day together to end either. My mouth opened and the words slipped out, "But, I don't think Elaine would mind if you came with us to the movies. You interested?"

His eyes glimmered, trying to contain his smile. "I wouldn't be intruding, would I?"

"No, not at all. If anything I may end up being the one intruding on you and Elaine," I laughed.

"Alright," He responded. "I'd be good with that, just so long as I'm not ---"

"You're not," I concluded.