ˏˋ°•*⁀➷  M A S T E R P I E C E
➥ chapter SIX
| the void state |
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JAYMES FELT COMPLETELY LOST AND OUT OF PLACE as she stood in the middle of Telekinesis 101, with no Rowan in sight. She hated how nobody was talking about him, how all of them were acting like he never even existed.

She kept replaying her argument with Xavier from the day before, over and over again inside of her head, but the more she dwelled on it, the more her heart ached.

Everything was falling apart. And she was helpless.

"Today," the instructor, Mr. Blackmore, spoke to the students, pacing around the front of the room like he always did, only this time, class felt different, and only Jaymes knew what was missing. "We are going to learn about my one of my favorite abilities. The Void State."

Jaymes glanced up from her staring contest with the floor, her interest peaked at the phrase that was unfamiliar to her. Mr. Blackmore went on, "The Void State is something that anyone can do, with enough concentration and practice, even those without any powers. But we, the ones who have been blessed with these physcokinetic abilities, we can use the same technique in a completely different and special way."

He motioned to the small mats that had been layed out on the hard floor. "Everybody take a seat please."

Mr. Blackmore proceeded to lead the class in a guided meditation, almost losing Jaymes' attention in the process - that was until the peacefulness settled over her.

"You should all feel floaty; like you are not fully connected to your physical form." He said, keeping his voice soft. "This is good, this is what we want to feel. Now, I want you all to think of something that really matters to you. I know that's a broad subject, so maybe start with an object that means a lot to you."

Jaymes immediately thought of her camera, already able to feel the smooth angles of the object in her hands and the way that the small buttons slid and clicked underneath her fingertips, all without the camera actually being in the room.

"Focus in on that object," Mr. Blackmore said. "Think about where it is, whether it's in your dorm or somewhere else."

Right on her dresser, it still sat where it had in her childhood bedroom, now in a new geographical location. That corner of her cabinet had a patch of worn down wood, the paint being chipped away from how many times she had slid the camera off the top and into her hand for use.

"What does it feel like when you touch it? What are the tiny little details about this object that nobody knows about but you?"

There was a small nick on the right side of the camera, from the first day that Jaymes had gotten it. It was Christmas morning, and she was thirteen years old. She had unwrapped the gift from her parents and squealed in delight, insisting that she run outside to use it immediately. She took it to her garden, looking for her favorite yellow butterfly to photograph, but instead she had encountered a snake. In her shock and surprise, she had dropped the new camera.

Once picking up the device, little Jaymes had run inside to her parents, sobbing about how she had broken it. It was her mother who showed her that it was fine, there was only a scratch on one side.

"Now, go there. Go to the place where the object is and try to touch it, really try to feel it. I know that it sounds ridiculous, but you should know that you're capable by now."

The more that she focused in on the mental image, the more Mr. Blackmore's voice faded out, and Jaymes felt fear seizing her chest, but she forced herself to push on. Eventually, she couldn't hear his voice at all, or any noises that were previously in the classroom for that matter.

The mental image of her dresser in the corner of her dorm, right beneath her window faded away. Jaymes sighed frustratedly, assuming that she had failed the exercise.

She opened her eyes, nearly crumpling to the floor when she saw where she was. She was standing in her dorm room, staring right at the camera in its spot where she had imagined.

Stepping carefully across the creaking floorboards, Jaymes approached the dresser. She felt the wooden surface first, sucking in a breath when the expected feeling of cold wood meeting her warm hands never came.

She tried again, this time putting more force behind her hand, but again, her hand moved through the dresser, like she were a ghost that could waft through walls.

"Holy shit." She breathed, reaching forthe camera now, and as she had come to expect, her hand drifted right through the device.

Her heart quickened its pace, and her fear got the better of her. She gasped for air as panic gripped at her throat, squeezing her eyes shut. The world spun all around her, and a loud whoosing noise was in her ears. When she dared to opened her eyelids again, she was back in the classroom.

Mr. Blackmore smiled at the students, who were all coming back to reality by now, nodding approvingly at them. "Good, good. Tell me, could you touch your object?"

"No!" One of the girls piped up. "I tried to pick up my necklace but my hand went right through it! It was like I was a ghost!"

The teacher laughed, eyes twinkling with passion and glee. "Exactly." He turned to speak to the whole class. "The Void State allows one to clear their mind for better focus, and for those with special, reality altering abilities, like those in this room, we can create worlds inside of our minds."

All of the students were silent, staring at their teacher in awe. He went on, "And here's the best part; that little glimpse that you saw, it was a glimpse into the reality. That is what your desired location looks like right now."

A shy boy who always sat in the corner raised his hand. Mr. Blackmore called on him and he spoke, his voice trembling nervously, "Um, my object was my Xbox, and when I focused on it and...went to it, uh, my friends were there. I let one of my mates borrow my object, and I saw them...I saw them in their dorm playing with it."

Mr. Blackmore nodded. "Very good. Yes, that confirms what I've just said. You saw what your friends are doing right now, in this current moment, Bennett. You saw them, but they couldn't see you. You were like a secret spy."

Jaymes inhaled sharply, the weight of this power finally hitting her. Mr. Blackmore answered the unspoken question on all of their places, "Yes, you can see without being seen. But please be cautious and respect others privacy. This ability comes with a lot of responsibility, it has potential to be used for good, so much good, but it could easily be abused. You get to decide how you want to use your powers, I can't and won't stop you. I will just encourage you to make good choices."

Clapping his hands together loudly, Mr. Blackmore stood up. "Alright, that's all for today. You can leave now and go to your next class when the bell rings. Have a good day, everyone."

•••

Jaymes couldn't stop thinking about her lesson from that morning. Her surroundings had felt so real, the floorboards under her feet, the same draft of wind that always blew through the room. But her hand had gone right through her dresser, and right through her camera. She found herself staring down at her palm throughout the day, feeling like she should be hurt in some way. But she wasn't, and she hadn't even felt anything when it happened. It was truly like she was a ghost.

She couldn't wait to get back to her dorm and test the newfound ability out.

Her mind was so preoccupied that she didn't even notice when she walked into Ms. Thornhill's greenhouse for her last class of the day. However, she quickly snapped back to reality when she realized that she had to sit next to Xavier, and that the last conversation they had was a stupid, petty argument.

She sucked in a deep breath, biting down hard on her lip before crossing the rest of the room over to her seat. She slid onto the wooden stool, keeping her eyes down and off of Xavier.

Of course, he saw her anyway, and she felt him stare at her for a moment before he tried to speak. "Hey," he muttered.

"Hey." Jaymes said back, her own voice quiet.

A moment of quiet hung over them, the tension thick in the air. Then, he broke the silence, "I, uh, I'm sorry about yesterday."

Jaymes glanced over at him from the corner of her eye, seeing that he was staring down at the table, face scrunched up like the words were hard for him to say.

He went on, "I was being a sore loser, and taking it out on you. You didn't do anything wrong, I'm sorry."

Jaymes felt a smile dancing on her lips, threatening to spread over her entire face. "Why did that sound rehearsed?" She asked in a teasing voice.

For the first time since they met, she watched his cheeks grow red. He bit back a smile, telling her, "It wasn't."

"It totally was." Jaymes giggled. "You definitely stood in front of your mirror this morning and practiced saying that to me."

He exhaled sharply, dropping his chin down to his chest. "No..." he scoffed. "It wasn't...quite that bad."

"But you did rehearse it, no?"

"I did." He admitted, scrunching up his nose with embarrassment. Jaymes grabbed at his arm and shook him back and forth gently, laughing softly at his shame. "That's so cute."

Immediately, she regretted the statement, praying to some higher power that maybe Xavier didn't hear them, but the way that he lifted his face and looked at her proved that he had heard every word. "Cute?" He questioned.

"I just mean...it's endearing. The thought of you walking around the school, muttering that little apology speech under your breath." Jaymes rushed to explain, her own cheeks turning a deep shade of pink. "It's funny."

He looked away from her, keeping his eyes on the ceiling for a moment as he laughed softly. "Whatever, Jaymes. Do you accept my apology or not?"

"Yeah, of course."

"You could never be mad at me, right?" He flashed her a confident smile. "I'm too 'cute'."

"Oh my God." Jaymes slumped over under her forehead rested against the tabletop. "Why did I say that?"

Xavier laughed at her. "I don't know, but I'm never letting you live it down."

"I hate you." Jaymes muttered, pressing her face harder against the cool metal, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Sure you do."

Jaymes lifted her head off of the tabletop, locking eyes with Xavier. His expression was a solemn one, but there was a twinkle of amusement in his pupils, and Jaymes found herself mesmerized by the gorgeous green color.

Her eyes darted down to his lips, seemingly without her control, and she saw his mouth twitch like he wanted to smile.

Just then Ms. Thornhill entered the greenhouse, followed by the remainder of the class. She was already going on and on about some flower that had just been shipped in that she couldn't wait to look into, causing Jaymes and Xavier's interaction to be cut shorter than either of them wanted it to be.

However, throughout the whole class, she kept sneaking glances over at him, only making herself feel more giddy inside as butterflies rippled through her stomach.

•••

HII LOVES!!

sorry for taking so long to update, i've been busy. busy procrastinating hehehehe

also sorry that this chapter was a bit more boring than usual, i promise more drama is coming. A LOT MORE DRAMA. i just wanted to show jaymes' learning this power that will be very relevant to the plot, and to show that her and xav are good at communicating. I LOVE THEM SM.

i hope you enjoyed this chapter! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! <3

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i hope everyone is having an amazing day! virtual hugs!

~ catie <3