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"What do you mean, you're going on a date with Mr Bates?!" Jake asked, not entirely successful in keeping the disdain out of his voice.
Jake's mother frowned. "I met him on my way home from work and he asked me to dinner," she said. "He's a really nice guy, Jake. Guys like him don't exactly line up around the block to take me to dinner at a nice restaurant, you know."
"Right," Jake said through clenched teeth. "Have fun then!" Without waiting for a reply, Jake pushed past his mother and out the door.
"Jake?" he heard his mother say behind him. "Jake!"
Jake started running.
#
"Jake!"
Jake stopped running, but he fidgeted and shifted from foot to foot, impatiently waiting for Felix to catch up.
"Okay, so I talked to Ellen about Phoebe and the shop closing and-- what's up with you?"
"Nothing," Jake said roughly.
Felix raised his eyebrows. Jake' clenched fists and the scowl on his face told a different story. "Seriously, Jake. What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Jake insisted. He gave Felix a small shove and started walking.
Felix rolled his eyes - like they had time for stupid melodrama when Phoebe was missing and they suddenly had elemental superpowers. He jogged a few steps to catch up with Jake and then silently followed him down to the edge of the woods.
"The sooner you tell me, the sooner I'll leave you alone," Felix said casually, leaning against a tree.
Jake shot him a glare and started pulling leaves off the nearest tree, angrily tossing them to the ground.
"I don't know what that tree ever did to you, but it's not going to solve anything, even if you pull of every single leaf."
Jake snorted. "But it's making me feel better."
"And you need to feel better because...?"
"My mother," Jake said, whirling around, "is going on a date. With Bates!"
Felix' eyes widened. "Wow."
"Yeah. We just got back from Crazytown two days ago, and now she's going out with the guy! Can you believe it?!"
Felix shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's not so bad."
"What? How can you say that?"
"I mean, he's not a demon now, is he? And he's nice enough." Felix shrugged again. "For a teacher."
"Yeah, but--it's not supposed to be that way! Mum and Bates, that's crazyverse stuff. Not real world stuff. If she gets together with Bates, then what's next? Ellen starts dating Andy? Mia breaks up with Sam?" Jake shook his head. "No."
"Is it really that or...? Can it be that you're hoping she'll get back together with your dad?"
Jake snorted. "Yeah, right. I don't want her with that loser." Jake started pacing, his fists clenching and unclenching. "But I don't want her with Bates, either. Bates is like... he's--"
Underneath Felix' feet, the earth lurched. He yelped, clutching at the tree at his back. "Jake!"
A deep rumbling sound travelled up through the ground and soon cracks appeared in the dry earth. Small clumps of earth and stone shook loose and danced over the ground. Above them, the trees started swaying, the leaves rustling with the movement.
"Jake, stop it!"
Eyes wide, Jake raised his hands helplessly. "I'm not doing anything!"
"Yes, you are - you're the earth element! You can control it!"
"I don't know how!"
A loud creaking was the only warning they got before a large branch came crashing down, nearly bashing Jake over the head. Felix threw himself against Jake and pushed both of them out of the way, underneath a larger, sturdier looking tree.
"Okay, Jake, calm down. Think of something else," Felix said.
"Like what?"
"Anything! Something calm, something steady," Felix said. "A mountain!"
"A mountain!" Jake gave him an incredulous look. "What's a mountain got to do with anything?"
Felix' smartass reply was cut off by a particularly vicious tremor that made him lose his footing. Only Jake's quick reflexes saved him from falling on his arse. There had to be something he could do to calm Jake down. Or at least distract him. Maybe if he shocked him, it would be enough to break Jake's concentration and stop the mini-earthquake. If only he had a bucket of ice-cold water. Or a whistle. Something to take Jake's attention off Bates and his mum.
"Oh, no."
Jake's dismayed whisper had Felix turn his head around. Several dozen feet away, the trees started shaking.
#
Jake watched with horror as the trees further away started shaking, rolling up and down as the earthquake spread and shook the ground. He'd never started anything this big before - he honestly hadn't thought he could.
"Jake!" Felix said urgently.
"I don't know how to stop it," Jake said. Thinking calm things did absolutely nothing. He tried not thinking about his mother or Bates or magic and nothing worked.
The large tree behind them shifted and there was a ripping sound as several roots sprang from the earth and whipped around their ankles.
Jake didn't get much warning. One moment he was in a panic because he'd started an earthquake with no idea how to control it, let alone stop it. The next moment, Felix had put a hand on his chest and pushed him back against the tree, leaning down slightly to--
Oh.
Felix' lips were unexpectedly soft. He had put his piercings back in and the metal felt strange but not unpleasant against Jake's lips. One of Felix' hands found its way into Jake's hair, cupping the back of his skull while his other hand simply rested on Jake's chest, right over his heart.
Jake's heart fluttered and he made a quiet, needy sound that he would have been embarrassed about if Felix hadn't reacted by running his tongue along Jake's lips and pressing his body a little closer.
Jake's hands settled on Felix' hips, fingers hooking into the belt loops of Felix' jeans.
When Felix' tongue touched his lips again, Jake opened his mouth. Their tongues slid together and then Jake pushed his own tongue forward, wanting to explore Felix' lip piercings.
Felix moaned when Jake touched the tip of his tongue to the nearest piercing, licking along the curve of it before closing his lips around it, tugging at it gently. The metallic taste of the piercings combined with something that was pure Felix sent Jake's heartbeat into overdrive. But this was simply excitement - his earlier panic was gone.
Felix pulled back slowly, running his tongue along Jake's lips one last time before leaning back.
Jake opened his eyes, half-afraid what he was going to see in Felix' eyes. But Felix still had his eyes closed, giving Jake the opportunity to stare for a moment. Felix' lips were red and shining wetly in the late afternoon sunlight filtering in through the trees. Felix' mouth was open, just a little, and Jake wanted to kiss him again. Wanted to take his exploration a little further, past Felix' lips and the piercings. He wanted--
Felix took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
Instantly, things turned awkward. Jake dropped his hands from Felix' hip and Felix stepped back a little, crossing his arms in front of his chest. His eyes darted around the small clearing, never settling on Jake for more than a second.
"So, uh." Felix kicked at an exposed tree root. "I guess that worked. To, uh, distract you. From the earthquake."
Jake blinked slowly, his mouth suddenly dry. "Yeah, I guess." Of course Felix had just been--obviously he wasn't interested in--that would be ridiculous anyway.
"It's pretty quiet now," Jake said, giving Felix a small smile. "Thanks."
"Sure." Felix nodded. "Anytime."
Jake wanted to scream, knock his head into the tree, hear about his mum's date with Bates in excruciating detail. Anything other than to be stuck here, sharing an awkward post-kiss silence with Felix.
"You said something about Ellen and Phoebe," Jake said. "Earlier, before the... earthquake."
"Right, I did," Felix said, sounding relieved.
Jake tried not to take it personally. "Did you find out anything?"
Felix nodded. "As a matter of fact, I did. Let's find the others; they need to know about this, too."
"All right, let's go."
Jake followed Felix out of the woods, half hoping he'd lose control again and half dreading it. Jake shook his head at himself. No, there had to be a better way to get Felix to kiss him again. One that hopefully didn't include any earthquakes, fires or other supernatural elements.