got that magic touch.

rosalie had spent what felt like the last hour hiding in the corner of their small hideaway, her honey colored hair all but clung to the dirty brick. had anyone asked her how she was, she would have said she was fine, great even. in truth, she felt sick to her stomach just by being in the same room as elijah. it wasn’t that his presence made her ill, it was the lack of his presence with her, the lack of his touch, the absence of the connection they once had. her heart ached whenever he was near. instead of focusing on him, she tried to channel all of her energy into the book before her, studying arcane arts. 

her attention was caught by the sound of his voice, causing her head to snap up with sudden alertness. a bitter scoff slipped from her lips, and her hazel eyes filled to the brim with an uneasy mixture of pain and anger. “you haven’t exactly proven yourself to be trustworthy in the past, elijah,” she hissed. “besides, who’s to say that you wouldn’t out us while trying to impress one of your little whores, hm?” with a shake of her head, she slammed the book closed and raised from her seat. “of course we need to keep this a secret. people would either put us in a nut house or… i don’t know. it just can’t get out, okay?”

for some reason or another, rosalie had accepted fraser’s offer, much to her dismay. each time she watched the tiny ball rise and fall, she could feel her blood just a tad bit more. this was meant to be a distraction from her heartache and from classes, not a chance to babysit. “’that sounds cool’? that’s it? no thank you?” she wasn’t surprised in the slightest, but she still couldn’t hide her disdain. for a brief, glimmering moment, a hint of amusement graced her features. “i’d be the parlor,” she said with a shrug, “it’s pretty but you’re never really sure what’s going on inside. it could be harmless, it could be sinister. what about you?” within seconds, that pleasant look disappeared. it wasn’t a secret that elijah and rosalie were once a couple; it also wasn’t a secret that rosalie tried to avoid the man as much as possible. however, she’d never let anyone speak ill of the person she still loved so much. “if you ever say anything like that about him again in my presence, i will shove that fuckin’ paddle-ball up your ass sideways. understood?” 

just another shrug in place of the verbal response he knew rosalie was seeking, but fraser didn’t have much to say on the subject. he didn’t even want the powers in the first place and didn’t have a choice on the matter. according to his dad, who also was a part of the previous circle, ‘fate chooses you, you can’t choose your fate.’ apparently fate brought him here. fraser rolled his eyes, but couldn’t deny the tiny smile coming to play on his lips. “good to know you find yourself pretty.” as long as fraser had known rosalie, really known (which wasn’t that long), she’d been a quiet girl without an entirely loud personality. not like greta, who was as loud as they come, and just the thought reminded him that he needed to text her back soon or he’d be in big trouble and his brain just didn’t have the capacity to feel the wrath of the tiny brunette. on the contrary, just like greta, rosalie didn’t hold back when it came to delivering snarky remarks to her ex-boyfriend. they had broken up and, frankly, while everyone found the drama amusing, it was also tiring. “getting a little defensive over someone not-that-special there? don’t know why you care so much about someone who obviously doesn’t care about you. just cast a spell on him. i promise i won’t tell anyone.”

standing in the corner of their rather dingy hideaway, rosalie swayed her hips to and fro in time with the song she was humming. her long, pale fingertips traced along a stained and tattered book. the scent of rosemary, lemon, and sage filled the immediate area. “i’m attempting to do a cloaking, for y'know, protection.” her long caramel colored hair fell around her face as she looked back at the others, a wary smile on her features, “just in case someone decides to run their mouths. we’ll still be safe.”

fraser bought the paddle-ball toy for fifty cents from the corner store and it was a purchase worthwhile. while fraser offered to accompany rosalie to the hideaway, it wasn’t like he wanted to. it was more like a ‘might as well since i haven nothing better to do moment’. at least he had something to keep him busy while she went on talking about a cloak. “yeah, whatever. that sounds cool,” he said unaffectedly. “whaddya think about this? if you were to be a room in a house, what room would you be?” then he chuckled softly to himself as he continued to paddle the rubber ball. “i think elijah would be the master bathroom since he’s so full of shit.”

eli wasn’t paying attention to what his fellow circle member was saying at all. something about ‘controlling’ and ‘secrets’ and ‘keeping it lowkey’ — definitely in his wheelhouse. he knew how to keep his lips sealed almost seamlessly every day — but the true difficulty was the mere mention of the word ‘secrets’ and how he constantly fought the instinct the glance over at rosalie, the one person he kept the most secrets from. they were inseparable their entire high school and half of their college career, but seeing her everyday because of the circle was different. and he’d never admit it to anyone beside himself, but it hurt a little too. a tight clench where his heartbeat should be.

“look,” he said, finally speaking up and pushing himself off the wall. “i think i can speak for all of us that no one is planning to spill this—” he paused and rolled his eyes, putting his fingers up for air quotes, “‘secret’, if that’s what y’all  want. which i think is dumb, because why hide something spectacular? i mean, if i can start a bonfire on the beach without having to buy charcoal and lighter fluid, then i’m all for that shit. i think y’all are scared.”