[ 20 ] 2014

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"He's helping Calum more than he's ever wanted to."

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Ashton went to the room next door to Michael's, which was the only room in the house he hadn't checked. He pushed the door opened to see there were two beds. Sleeping in one of them was Hazel Quimby and in the other was her brother Jack. The ghost cut the distance of the room with a few strides and placed a hand on Jack's shoulder to shake him awake. It didn't take much effort, and soon his brown eyes opened up to see a ghost standing in front of him. For Jack Quimby, it was nothing out of the ordinary to see ghosts. They were as real to him as any human being, and they were quite similar in appearance, except for the fact that ghosts had a faint greenish-blue undertone to their skin, and it was hardly noticeable unless someone looked hard enough.

"Is it morning already?" Jack groaned a bit groggily, sinking his head deeper into his pillow as he let out a tired yawn. His almond brown eyes glanced to his left in search of a clock atop the bedside table that could inform him of what time it was. 

Giving a shake of his head in response, Ashton began with urgency in his voice, "I need you to come to Brisbane with me."

Jack propped himself up on his elbows in order to sit up in his bed and pushed the covers aside. Now fully awake, he looked at Ashton with confusion. "Why are we going to Brisbane?" He asked, and Ashton saw it as a good sign that he hadn't just flat out declined to go with him.

"Harley need you to help Calum." Ashton explained.

"Well," Jack sighed as a grin spread across his lips. He had never been one to shy away from danger, especially not when it meant helping a friend. In the time that he had spent in Sydney, he had grown fond of Harley, and he saw her like another younger sister. It didn't help that she and his sister Hazel happened to look a lot alike. Refusing to help Harley made him feel like he was also turning his back on his sister because of the similarities they shared physically. He climbed out of bed as he finished, "Lets get going before Michael and Haze wake up. We're supposed to be leaving for Jamaica...or Trinidad and Tobago later. They're going to be pissed as hell when they see I'm gone."

Convincing Jack turned out to be more easy than Ashton thought. He expected there to be more begging or that he might have to resort to threats. He would do anything for Harley Quinn, and if that meant keeping Calum alive, he would not doubt in doing it.

-

Harley woke up a few hours later and she crinkled up her nose in disgust as she felt the hot stickiness of her skin beneath the unending layers of sheets. Next to her was Calum, and her hands reached for his arm to check how he was doing. He was no longer cold, he was even sweating as much as she was. Harley felt a smile tug at the corners of her lips, coming to the realization that he was clearly getting better, and she pushed the heavy covers out of the way, making them fall to the floor into a heavy heap.

The IV drip had run out of tea by then, and it seemed to her that it had helped to improve his condition. She would need to make more for him, in case he were to need it again. The temperature in the room was scorching hot from the air conditioner by the door and she hurried out of bed to turn it off. It literally felt to her like she was trapped, baking in an oven. She was just as quick to return to Calum's side. She sat next to him, her fingers raking through her black dyed hair that was wet from all her sweating during the night and kept sticking to the sides of her face. She pulled it back into a ponytail and used a scrunchie to hold it in place. 

She was thinking of getting in the shower when a jolt from Calum startled her in the next moment. His dark brown eyes opened after what felt like an eternity to her without seeing them, and his mouth fell open as he sucked in a deep breath like he had been given CPR. His hands gripped the sides of the bed, holding on tight and his eyes widened in fear. Harley didn't know what to do upon seeing him that way. It was like he was a fish out of water and had lost the ability to breathe; he was having an anxiety attack. She placed her shaking hands on his shoulders quickly and leaned in to look him in the eyes, hoping that the familiarity of her face would help him. "Calum!" She called to him desperately over his loud breathing, "Calum, you're okay now."

But he was paying no mind to her.

All he could think about was the fact that there was an ocean, the tide was rising, and he needed to stay alive if he wanted to see Harley again. His fit continued over a few more minutes, his breathing was loud as he continued to suck in gulps of air, until Harley caught his attention and held it on her. His brown eyes looked into her blue ones as she soothed a command with all her concentration, "You're okay, everything's gonna be fine. I promise." By this time, there were tears spilling down her cheeks. She hated not being able to do more for him.

He only nodded, still unable to speak. 

Calum's breathing was soon calmed and Harley pulled him close, her lips pressing onto his forehead in another attempt at helping him feel better. With shaking hands, he grabbed her arm and gave it a grateful squeeze. He could still not find words to tell her how much he appreciated her being there, nor could he even find his voice. His eyes blinked back his tears which were intermingled once again with the images of the roaring ocean, the cold water rising, the darkness that engulfed him, and the burning in his lungs. It was hell.

She let go of him when she was certain he was doing better, and he turned in his bed to look at her. "Tell me this was all just a fucking bad dream." He pleaded.

She couldn't tell him that because it wasn't. 

-

It had taken Ashton and Jack about a half hour to get to the airport from Michael's house, and it wasn't much time after they arrived that Jack was spammed with texts from his sister and Michael who were looking for him. They were angry. First of all because he had left the house in the middle of the night, and second because he was screwing up their plans of leaving Sydney and not coming back. Jack ignored all of their messages and got on the plane to Brisbane anyway, with money he had borrowed--stolen--from Michael. The hunter would eventually find out anyway, and it wasn't like he wouldn't return. He was still on board with leaving Australia, since he didn't like living in one place for too long, but he wanted to help Harley Quinn before leaving.

The plane ride was another two hours of their time, and their taxi ride to the hotel Harley was staying at was another forty five minutes plus the cost of the ride that also turned out to come out of Michael's pocket. "He's helping Calum more than he's ever wanted to." Jack commented jokingly to Ashton as they walked up to the door to Harley's hotel suite.

Jack gave one knock on the door and that was enough to get the attention of the people inside. Within seconds Harley was there to open it for him. She was pleasantly surprised to find Ashton was there too.

She pulled both of them inside and shut the door. There was a hint of excitement in her blue eyes and they saw the reason for that happiness when they saw Calum was finally awake. "I think he's doing much better, but I still think you can do something for him. He says his lungs still burn." She explained to the Canadian shifter who was there to provide his assistance.

"A lot." Calum piped in a bit weakly.

"This will literally take a second." Jack informed, cracking his knuckles in preparation.

He walked over to the raven haired boy who was still laid in bed; he was still exhausted from the days he spent out under the pier without food or water. The room was musty and hot, like they had left the heater on for hours, and he stood over Calum from the side of the bed. Jack extended his hands out directly over Calum's chest area, where his lungs would be located. He closed his eyes and remained quiet as the room fell silent as well. They had never seen Jack heal anyone, except Harley, who had taken Phoenix to him once. Harley could feel his concentration, as could Calum, and soon it was visible in a purple aura that floated around his hands. 

The colored aura sunk into Calum's chest, making him wince for a second, and Harley bit down on her lip in worry that Jack might not be able to help him. 

The purple hue disappeared beneath his skin and Calum blinked back a few times. "How do you feel?" Jack asked him, placing a hand on Calum's shoulder.

Calum took a deep breath and found there was no searing pain in his chest. He could breathe normally again. Looking up at Jack, he said gratefully, "I feel alive. Thanks Jack, I literally owe you my life."

Harley was surprised at this change in Calum. He wasn't being the cocky, arrogant, and sometimes rude person that he normally was. That near death experience seemed to have made him appreciate the friends he had around him. It was a different--but positive--improvement.

Bringing his hands together to make a slight clap sound, Jack sighed, "Well, my job here is done. I need to get back to Sydney so I can catch a flight to the Caribbean with Haze and Michael."

"Wait." Harley eyed him, confused, "You guys are leaving?"

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E N D  O F  P A R T  O N E

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today's update is rather short. it was longer, but i had it in my google docs and i dont know what happened so it didn't save. and i had to rewrite it all from memory and it fucking pisses me off. thank you all loads for reading the story. im so happy that you guys like it and all that. 

qotd: tell me a story about your crush? before i start with my story, i will clarify that i am TWENTY ONE YEARS OLD so its no big deal, not a huge age difference. so...my crush is one of my professors at the university >.< but dont freak out. he is young and fine as hell. so let me tell you what happened today. we had our first exam in his class (only four girls in the class, including me, lol). so i was doing my own thing, trying to answer the questions and keep my focus when he walks over and starts swatting at something nearby like super desperately. and then he opened the window and i looked to see he was trying to get a bee out of the classroom. so then i turned to him and said nothing bc what could i say? so then he turns to me and grins all proud of himself. "i just saved your life." he told me. and i rolled my eyes playfully and said, "yeah. thank you." and so he replied with a wink, "you're welcome." and i was screaming on the inside. and that, in my delusional world, was an act of love. he loves me. lol. 

so dont forget to give this a nice vote and comment! have a wonderful week!

-clary xx