The next morning, they were back at the flea market again, only this time it was in full swing and Jake was a new man. He congratulated himself on finally putting it all in perspective after a nearly sleepless night. Yesterday was a fluke. Too much heat and too little food and anyone might start believing in magic rocks. 

He might have spent most of the morning studying Pisces horoscopes, but that was only so he could choose to not believe them. They could say this day was "a very important day" and that he "had to make choices" all they wanted, but he knew that it was just a day.

Today, that rock would be nothing more than an embarrassing reminder of his stupidest moment (and that was counting the incident with the Jell-O shots and the keg stand), so he was glad it was gone. Yes, glad and relieved. He was also relieved Molly was over there dealing with Miss Crystal or whatever her name was (Prudence?) instead of him.

Molly was holding her phone in front of the lady unrelentingly while tapping on a wad of cash on the table with her other hand, but the old lady was shaking her head. Jake wondered if the outcome would be different with more money. He'd tried to fatten up Molly's stack of cash, but she insisted that she'd thrown the thing away and she'd be the one to pay but "not a dime over thirty dollars."

"I found plenty of crystals on Ebay and on Etsy," she'd said firmly. "They were all under thirty bucks and some were way bigger and shinier than that crappy pile of muddy glass!"

Then again, if that was how Molly was describing it to Prudence, then maybe that was why it wasn't going so well. Still, she pushed the money across the table, then stomped towards him.

"All good?" he asked, knowing it wasn't. Prudence was glowering in their direction.

"I can't believe the nerve of that woman! She was all 'Oh, you can't put a price on such power.' Well, I know what that means! I'm not being taken for a patsy. She's not getting one more red cent out of me!"

"Jeez!" He backed away. "You sound like your dad."

"Thanks for reminding me. He's the only reason I'm at this stupid thing. I kept thinking this bazaar only looked like crap yesterday because it wasn't set up, but look at this!" He followed her now as she meandered around tables, muttering to herself. "More like a garage sale," she said, turning back to him. "You can't bring whatever junk's lying around your house. Where is the quality? The homemade crafts? This is the day before Father's Day, for crying out loud!"

"What exactly are you looking for?" he asked.

"I'll know when I see it," Molly said. "I want something special."

He followed her, not sure what else to do. Being around her was confusing after yesterday and the fitful night that followed. He really had to stop thinking about it. Molly was too important to star in last night's disturbingly erotic mud wrestling dreams, so he really had to wipe them away. It wasn't happening, though. Even catching a glimpse of Juliet this morning hadn't wiped those visions out of his mind.

Juliet had waved at them across the cafeteria when they came in, but he felt strange going over there, like he would be accepting her flirting under false pretenses. But the girl was unstoppable. She'd actually ambushed Molly and dragged her over to her table before Molly could even get to the crystal lady, all hugs and linking arms. Juliet kept looking his way the whole time. Molly did, too, though she didn't look happy.

Then again, Juliet didn't look too thrilled with him, either, any time he caught her eye after. Whatever Molly had said to her, it must have annoyed Molly, too. Because she'd been in a perfectly fine – or at least not actively hostile – mood when they got there. As for Juliet being mad, he was just too tired and hot to even think of the hows or whys or what the hell to do about that. Today's crowded cafeteria made yesterday's temperature seem like a balmy spring day.

Despite all the junk, Molly stopped at every table, scrutinizing everything. He was tempted to tell her to do what he'd do, buy a nice wallet or tie, but he didn't want to rock the boat. He'd guiltily offered to take her in the truck in case she bought some gigantic thing. He needed to do something. Her hair had been deep purple this morning!

Jake had always called it her Manic Panic Panic. She picked up a jar of Manic Panic and changed her hair whenever she was feeling conflicted or confused. He couldn't even count how many colors or color combinations she'd been through by now. He'd almost trained himself not to notice because she always said it reminded her of whatever was freaking her out if he pointed it out, so he didn't.

Besides, she'd been weird with him this morning. He'd made the mistake of starting to ask about yesterday, but she cut him off quickly.

"Oh, that? I forgot that even happened."

"Then why the hell is your hair purple?" he'd wanted to ask, but didn't. Then again, maybe he'd been the one acting weird. He'd kept staring at the yellow straps under her purple tank, trying to figure it out: bra or bikini? Then, he avoided looking at her at all when Uncle Josh came in and invited him to stay for waffles.

That's right, Uncle Josh. Her parents had been Aunt Deb and Uncle Josh all his life. Sure, they weren't related and it was an honorary title, but it still made him feel like shit. What kind of a disrespectful perv was he, thinking about Molly's bra (or possible bikini) with her own father in the room?

He was only able to get down four waffles, he felt so awful.

On the way here, he'd tried to talk about yesterday and the mud incident, but Molly switched the subject to her blouse. "Don't worry. It's soaking. Mom says it might be in critical condition, but we're all praying hard, even George," she'd said with a smile, as if her top was the only thing to be concerned about. Maybe it was for her. Either way, it didn't seem like she wanted to clear the air. Maybe the air was clear. What could he even say that wasn't already said?

Even if he had something to say, he was too wimpy to bring it up. What if she laughed in his face or got pissed off at the mention of it? He remembered the mud all too well. She hadn't kissed him back. She'd just let it happen, then stopped it. Of course, there was that moment with her neck, but that shaking could mean anything, even revulsion. Maybe it was ridiculous for him to think she'd felt anything, too. Maybe they'd been friends for so long, there was no way that anything involving lips and nipples would ever happen again. The fact that it had happened at all was a fluke, an anomaly, never to be repeated.

They were perfectly fine as they were. It would be stupid to shake things up. He needed her. That was why he was here. Nothing pervy or sneaky about it and he'd best remember that.

He followed her to the next table, keeping his eyes on the back of her head. She was wearing a short skirt, though, so it was a toughie, especially when she bent slightly over the table...

Stop it!

He wildly glanced around the cafeteria, wondering if anyone would notice if he slapped himself in the face. His eyes landed on Miss Crystal's table. He tried to toss her a smile, but she looked away, obviously still miffed at whatever Molly had said. What had she said, anyway?

He moved away from Molly, who was haggling with some guy standing guard over a table of ships in bottles. At least he could clear the air with Miss Crystal.

"Hi, Prudence."

She seemed to purposefully wait a second or two before glancing up at him. "Who?"

"I was saying 'hi.'"

"If you want to say 'hi' to Prudence, you'd better find her. Meanwhile, my name is Patience."

"Damn it, that's right. Molly told me and I must've—"

"If I were you, I'd forget anything that Molly over there told you. She's obviously got a mind like a cul-de-sac, completely closed off. She said my crystals were snake oil! Incidentally, if she knew the history of snake oil, she wouldn't toss it around as an insult."

"I'm sorry about that. I can give you a little more for the crystal if—"

"This isn't about price. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not overcharging here."

He glanced at a thousand-dollar chunk of white rock.

"The big-ticket items are there to bring people over." She gestured to the gargantuan thing. "It would cost me more money to actually sell it."

"Well, I'm sorry if she said anything bad. I mean, this is your religion."

"This isn't my religion. Not everyone who utilizes crystals believes in the supernatural, you know, and there is nothing more natural than this. Don't watches use quartz for vibration? Don't microphones?"

"Actually, I didn't know either of those things, but... cool."

"When I sell something, I like to think of it being used and cared for, not lying in a ditch somewhere." She shook her head. "At least you're not as bad as your girl over there. She said I was a lunatic if I believed it, and a thief if I didn't. I'll have her know—"

"Molly's wrong," he cut in, glancing around in hopes she hadn't heard that. It was her least favorite thing to hear. Luckily, she was three tables away. "I know that crystal worked," he hissed, "I don't get exactly why or how, but it did something I can't explain."

Patience leaned forward. "Interesting. Go on."

"Okay. Let's just say there was this one girl I was into and she never gave me the time of day before, but suddenly she was asking me out, which is weird enough, but then things got weirder. I didn't even get to see where that went when the Viagra part of the crystal suddenly turned me onto this other girl, and now the crystal's gone. I should be glad it's gone because this is so wrong. I mean, this other girl is basically... Okay, she's not exactly, but... See, it would be nuts to even think about... and then my horoscope said I had to decide today, but I don't even believe in horoscopes and... Maybe I should start again. So there's this first girl..."

Patience held up a hand. "No. I get it."

"Really? I'm not sure I do."

"I heard enough. You are obviously a very confused young man, which is exactly your problem. How can a crystal draw in what you want when you don't even know what you want for yourself? Crystal work requires focus and determination, not vague ideas." 

Damn it. He was always way better with vague ideas. 

She stared at him, then nodded. "I think I know what you need." She dug under her table and pulled out a small cloth bag. "I haven't been putting these on display." She nodded behind her. "That one over there saw it and accused me of infringing on her sales territory. Pfft! As if she invented bracelets. Doesn't matter. Jewelry's not my only game."

He glanced at Juliet, wondering if he should apologize for her, too, when Patience spilled the bag into his hand. He thought it would just be loose rocks, but it was a bracelet with the same familiar smoky pink and cloudy gray stones, except with some marbled purple stones between. They were all tiny, roughly cut, and alternating pink, purple, grey, pink, purple, grey.

"Aren't these two the same as the others? I thought you said they were rare."

"Bound together, yes. But you can get them in beads easily. Do you want it or not?"

"How much?"

She sized him up. "Nothing."

"What?"

"I'll give it to you, only because I can see you've been opened to it. But this won't work the same as the other or with the same strength. It's not as large and not bound naturally, though they are all touching. Touch is important. It works best in contact with skin."

It felt warm against his palm. "I think I feel it." Last time, he'd lied about feeling anything like energy or vibration, but that was before. This time, he could swear he felt something, like a low hum. Was he crazy or was he now open like she'd said? "What's the purple one?"

"Lepidolite. It's for focus, clarity. It can even help with stress and depression. It contains lithium. That should clear up your confusion, for sure."

"But isn't it like cheating?" he had to ask, conflicted.

She chuckled. "How the hell do you figure that?" Well, at least they were back to chuckling.

"I don't know. If this draws things to me, things I might want, then what if those things aren't really mine? If it makes someone want me against their will, then how is that fair to them?"

"Sweetie, it speaks well of you that you even think it, but that's not how it works. These stones are part of nature, so they can't do anything unnatural like that. Look, this world is full of people distracted by their own pointless shit – insecurities, hang-ups, fear of the unknown. These stones don't give you anything you don't already have. They strip away all the negatives so you can be who you are and get what you deserve."

"So, whatever I get, it would be mine even without the crystal if I were less pathetic?"

She tossed up her hands. "What a terrible thing to say. I didn't say anything like that." She leaned forward, jabbing a finger at him. "You're a good-looking kid with arms like a trapeze artist, and I'm betting you've got a six-to-eight pack under there." She gestured at his shirt. "Best of all, you don't seem like an asshole. If someone's seeing all that for the first time, it's probably you."

He found himself blushing a little. "Well, I wasn't always—"

"Well, you are now, so get over that."

He'd never really thought about it that way, like there was something to get over, but sometimes he still saw that chunky kid in the mirror, the kid he'd been when he first started to notice girls outside of Molly. That chunky kid still made him hesitate to talk to them, even now. Maybe he would always be there, but it was up to Jake whether that kid was calling the shots.

He stared at the crystal and Patience. Was it working already? Damn! He dug in his wallet, pulled out a twenty.

Patience shook her head. "Hey, I said it was a gift."

"So is this."

"Okay, hot stuff, get yourself a girl." She humphed slightly as she took his money. "Though right now, I'm not sure which one's worse. Good luck!"

"Thanks," he said absently, mulling over her words as he moved away, the last ones in particular. Which one? He stared at the bracelet, then glanced over at Juliet's table. He hadn't even thought of it as him choosing between Juliet and Molly. Was it even a choice? Molly definitely wasn't an option.

So why the hell wasn't he dream wrestling with Juliet last night?

He stopped, gasping. Hadn't his horoscope said he needed to make a choice? He tried to remind himself he didn't believe in horoscopes. Crystals, on the other hand, had science behind them. Patience had just said it.

"I believe," he whispered, gripping it in his fist. "I believe." He still wasn't feeling any less confused, but he believed this would clear it up. Something had to.

TBC

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