Chapter 8 : Nine lives

Justin woke up earlier than expected  . It was Friday and that meant he'd get some good rest tomorrow for the entire day . Weekends were his favorite because thats when he can sleep an entire day without worrying about homework . Weeks had passed and things were still interesting , at school and at home . His mother was very open with him and he felt obligated to tell her everything that was happening in his life . He missed some crucial parts though because she didn't deserve to know literally everything  . He believed that some things were better left unsaid .

His mother worked less and spent most of her time entertaining him or telling him her childhood stories . Apparently she was just like him too , but she found her purpose when she met his father Greg Hawk . His father was the total opposite , he was nerdy and ambitious from the get go .

She told him stories about how they built their first business from very scratch and he listened with understanding . He knew now that his mother was solely influenced by her husband and everything she did was to please him . It reminded him of all the times his father would boss his mother around and she'd do nothing about it . He had a feeling that she was tired of that life now . That's why he's seeing change in her .

School was also great . Elle was back to herself again and Connor was back looking all well and strong . Tip on the other hand was still cold as ever . He was always distracted by whatever it was that plaqued his mind . Justin would sometimes catch him sneaking around the school during lessons or going out in the middle of classes . He was acting very strange .

Tip was always distracted at the cafeteria , his eyes would dart around aimlessly . Elle was oblivious or she simply couldn't care about whatever was happening to her friend . Connor chooses to ignore it since Tip has always been secretive . Justin couldn't pretend to act like he doesn't notice , he was starting to get worried about him . The Asian boy hardly spoke to him . They spoke only when necessary like they hadn't kissed the other day . Was I that much of a bad kisser then ? Justin couldn't come up with an explanation as to why the boy was avoiding him . He was in the middle of his thoughts when his phone vibrated  . Who's calling at 5 in the damn morning ?!

He snatched his phone from his nightstand to look at the screen . It was an unknown number and he wondered who had the audacity to call at this time . He didn't receive calls a lot , only his mother called him . It couldn't be Elle because she only texted . So who could it be ? He brought the phone to his ear after pressing the green button and waited .

" Hey " , the voice said softly and Justin almost moaned at how sexy the morning voice sounded . He didn't expect it to be Tip and Justin was turned on by the outcome .

" Tip , what's up ?" he answered back huskily , hoping the boy on the other line would catch on but his attempts at phone sex were shattered when he heard the boy yawn .

" I need a favor from you  , uh could you come to my house tonight , I'll tell you everything when you get here . Come alone . "  Tip said after a few moment of silence . He was hesitant to ask but chose to swallow his thick ego immediately . He knew it would choke him as soon he ends the call but took the risk anyway . He couldn't let his pride get in his way , not now . 

" You couldn't tell me that in person ? ... I actually think you missed my voice ." Justin said , chuckling a bit as he pictured Tip's unamused face looking at him . "Should I bring some wine or a box of chocolates ? Which do you prefer ?"

" Don't flatter yourself ..."  Tip said before ending the call , not giving Justin a chance to say goodbye .

Justin stared at his phone longer than necessary , his eyes and ears unbelieving . He was mostly shocked at his crude behavior towards the other . When did I become such a hopeless romantic? Maybe it runs in the family .

He was contemplating on calling the other boy again but decided that he did not want to seem desperate for attention , even though he was . He wanted to get to know Tip better before anything escalated .

He decided to wake up , there was only thirty minutes left until his alarm shrieked so he had all the time in the world . His mother was probably awake too . He went to the bathroom to freshen up and this time he fixed himself properly . He wanted to impress Tip so much that he grabbed two sets of earrings from his top cabinet , he also grabbed his old nose ring as well .

Justin had three holes in total , two holes in the ears and the nose hole .  Damn , so many holes , Tip would love this ! Justin thought before smiling sheepishly at his own ridiculous thoughts . He was beginning to see his obsession with Tip , but he couldn't help himself . He is a teenager who's never been touched before . In conclusion , he was hormonal .

He left his bathroom with a towel around his slim waist and went straight to his closet and took out an outfit for the day . He grabbed a pair of skinny jeans , a white tank top and a pair of socks . I want him to drool when he sees me he thought foolishly .

When his alarm rang , he was already finished with everything , so he decided to go make some breakfast for him and his mother . He left his room after grabbing his phone .

When he arrived at the kitchen it was vacant , his mother was in her room still doing what business people did . So he decided to spoil her with a lovely breakfast . He strolled to the fridge , took out the needed ingredients and grabbed a frying pan .

He was in the middle of frying some bacon when his mother cleared her throat . He looked at her innocently as she scrutinized him from head to toe . Unlike him  , she was looking as elegant as she'd always been with her tight black skirt and a white blouse . The skirt was knee long and her smooth legs shown brightly . She was standing by the kitchen doorway with her hands on her hips .

" Good morning , I made you some breakfast ."he greeted her .

" Good morning to you too Justin ... " she said sternly , her small lips in a thin line . His mother only did that when she was disappointed or frustrated with his behavior . He must have done something wrong to upset her .

" Uh ... Why are you looking at me like that ? Do I have crap on my face ? " he asked while looking at his mother confusedly .

" Yes you have crap on your face Justin ... a nose ring ? When did you get that and how come you never told me you had your nose pierced ."

" It wasn't important mom , I got it last year . How was I supposed to tell you when we hardly even spoke huh ?" he said with a role of his eyes .

" Okay . I guess that's my fault too . I don't mind the piercings or whatever that you have but I plead with you to tell me before deciding on anything . But no tattoos , not while you're living under my roof . " she said curtly .

" Okay mom , now please sit down and enjoy your breakfast . " 

" This looks lovely , why thank you ." she said with an approving smile on her beautiful face . She did as told and took a seat while examining his work . She grabbed a fork and ate her food silently .

Justin looked at his mother for a moment , contemplating on asking her a question that's been plaquing his mind for a while . If he'd ask his mother , she would obviously want more details and he couldn't afford that . But he desperately wanted to vent out and he made his choice when he said .

" How do you know when you like someone ?" he cringed inwardly when he saw the surprised look on his mom's face . Her wide eyes dancing around his face for a second longer before she cleared her throat , twice in a day .

" Well , you'll just know deep down inside you if that person is the right one . I can't really say how , but it's more like a hunch . Everything you do agrees with that person and if you can't stop thinking about them , that's a given ." his mother answered . "It's complicated but you'll just know . I'm bad at this aren't I ?"

" Yep , that was terrible , I shouldn't have asked . I'm more confused than I was before " he whined .

" Is there someone you like ?"

" Probably ." he answered shortly , not willing on giving her details .

" You'll tell me when you're ready ... won't you?" Amber asked , looking at her son's handsome face .

" Of course I will ... I'll go fetch my stuff upstairs , you gonna drive me to school ? " he asked , standing up from his chair . His mother stood up as well and grabbed the plates to the sink .

" No not today , I need to be somewhere in like ten minutes from now . " She said  . "I'll see you this afternoon ."

His mother left , leaving Justin to drown in his own thoughts . He was beginning to think that maybe he liked Tip more than he should . It was worrisome the more the thought about it . Tip may be cold to him but Justin could tell that he felt something for him too . It wasn't enough for him though, he wanted Tip to like him back just as much as he did .

...

At school Justin was sitting in the cafeteria with his three friends . Connor was back to normal and he was in a heated argument with Tip about why cats had nine lives . Justin would often laugh at the spewed nonsense coming from Connor's lips . His logic was absurd and no one could convince him otherwise .

Elle on the other hand was sitting quietly while watching her friends bicker , which was odd . Her arms were crossed over chest and Justin could see her leg bouncing up and down from under the table . He frowned at her . She knew something was wrong right away . She wasn't her usual chattery self and her aura was different too . She looked worn out .

" Cats have nine lives because they land on their feet !" Tip was saying to Connor who looked very shocked at the revelation . He shook his head vigorously as if he was trying to rid of Tip's voice inside his head .

" That's bullshit , I can land on my feet too but I don't have nine lives . Cats are immortal man , I've seen my neighbor's cat choke on a corn dog but it's still alive . That little shit scares the hell out of me . " Connor answered seriously . If it wasn't for Elle laughing , Justin would've believed him . He didn't know why cats had nine lives so everything was believable to him .

It was the perfect opportunity to question her about her gloomy demeanor . Tip and Connor had gotten up from the table , ready to tear each other's throats out . Connor stood taller than Tip and he was doing silly gestures with his fingers . The shorter boy was looking at Connor's face like he was a trash can . Justin waited until Elle recovered from her laughter and leaned closer so he could whisper in her ear .

" Are you okay ?  you seem out of it . Is there something bothering you? " he asked .

" Oh yeah , I'm fine ... Today was supposed to be my mother's birthday you know but she died while giving birth to me . Uh ... I really wish I had some sort of memory of her , maybe I'd celebrate her birthday but I don't ... " she answered , her voice breaking with every word . She turned her attention back to her two arguing friends and smiled sadly . "It's not easy but I'll get over it . I just ... I hope that one day I'll remember her face , I want her in my memories for the last time  ."

" Shit I'm sorry Elle , I didn't know . It must be really hard . I can't feel what you're feeling right now cause I have both my parents but I  can imagine how painful that it . I hope your wishes come true . I really do " he said from the bottom of his heart . Little did he know that his words were powerful enough to become reality .

Before Elle could respond to him , they were interrupted by a voice .

" Shit , there's Lana . " Connor said , looking over Justin's shoulder at the beautiful blonde girl . " She gets beautiful day by day . Is that even possible ?"

" Yeah she's totally out of your league , quit dreaming ." Tip sassed .

" Look who's talking ! Says the one who wants to fuck-- " before Connor could finish his sentence , Tip kicked him under the table . The boy groaned in pain and glared daggers at the Asian boy . They held a stare contest and Justin could feel the air getting heavier .

" You guys are losers. " Elle interjected before taking a bite from her chicken sandwich . 

" Whatever , hey Justin are you gonna eat that ?" Connor asked , looking at at him expectedly . Being the considerate person he was , Justin pushed his tray over to Connor . The boy thanked him and immediately devoured the fruit salad .

" You know , I heard some rumors the other day and apparently , there's some prophecy about some witches in these walls . Can you believe that ? Who would have thought ... " Elle said after a moment . She was looking down on her sandwich in hand . She was oblivious to the wide eyes from everyone in the table as she continued . " I wonder what the prophecy is ..."

" What are you talking about? You mean there are are witches in real life ?" Justin voiced , the tension in the room choking his guts . Elle's faced shot up very quickly that he worried her neck would break . She was looking at him wide-eyed and the panic apparent on her face. 

" There's not such thing as witches , those rumors are just nonsense . Seth made that up , he was high on cocaine when he made that up . So no , don't believe shit like that " Tip said calmly despite his panicking state . He was trying to defuse the situation and it seemed to be working .

" Yeah that guy ... He's on some heavy stuff . He once volunteered to pray after he took a sniff in the restrooms ... " Connor chimed in .

" Oh , and here I was believing crazy things , of course witches are not real , even vampires and werewolves ... That would just be crazy " Elle said , looking at Justin's calculative eyes .

" Oh , I guess ." Justin said after a while . He was still skeptical about the whole thing . Elle's face was convincing when she spoke about the prophecy . She might have believed it but didn't want to show it . He himself couldn't believe such a thing .  None of that is real .