10 Chapter 9

TWELVE YEARS LATER....

"Why do we have to go to the grocery store every Saturday?" Lucky complained as Rufus pulled him by the hem of his hoodie so as to walk quickly inside.

"Because we need fresh things and you need to be at least social active". Rufus retorted.

"Why can't we just order the groceries online? Let's be digital!" Lucky complained again but Rufus was having none of it. Lucky was into technology and all that, his computer skills were undeniable impressive but still he had to get Lucky out of the shells of his brain that he locked himself in most of the time... he had to be social active, out of his brain and around other people for once.

"You need to be social active Lucky". Rufus replied.

"I am social. Aren't we talking right now?". Lucky asked, voice filled with sarcasm. "That's being social right?".

"No dumbass!. You need to get out and see the world. Interact with other people and see what they are up to!". Rufus explained.

"I see the world whenever we move to a new state, what more do I need to see?. I don't need other people Rufus. I have you guys and that's all that matters". Lucky answered as Rufus let go of him while he took the trolley to move down the aisles to get what they needed.

"I will go to the books section. Will meet you outside". Lucky said after moment of silence and Rufus hadn't said anything.

Rufus just nodded and listened in Lucky's heartbeat drift away as he took a deep breathe to calm himself down. Lucky had really changed during the past twelve years. He wasn't that sweet boy he used to know when they were just four. Lucky was still antisocial then but now, he was worse. He loved books more than people and Rufus suspected that this had something to do with Ninah's death.

Lucky ate very little, locked himself up in his room which was always filled with books; from school books to novels to historical and mythical books about origin of different species - their cultures and way of life, to business books that he never understood and didn't even want to see them due to the mathematics they had (Rufus despised mathematics and all the calculus stuff with all his heart). All in all Lucky was a very smart kid that he even helped his father, Plutonic in management of a few businesses. Burying himself in books was his way of coping up with life and venting out... Lucky wasn't his normal self, he didn't even go to school like Rufus and Araminta (Rufus' small sister). Though they moved a lot they still managed to enroll in school if they were to stay longer in the state or Plutonic would hire a tutor for them so as to home school them... Lucky did nothing of those. He wasn't interested in school and the teachers nor interacting with other students, Lucky was satisfied in his own company and loved staying by himself and reading more books over a cup of coffee which he made secretly because Aisha wouldn't approve of them drinking coffee at sixteen though Lucky thought they were old and strong enough to handle the caffeine.

"What should I choose between the two? Caramel or plain?". Rufus asked himself as he looked down at the flavored teabags. He personally loved strawberry flavored teabags, his small sister, Araminta loved Caramel flavored while Plutonic and his parents loved their tea plain.... Lucky? He loved none of those. 'A strange but good looking guy'. Rufus thought as he shrugged and took the two different flavors and plain one before putting them in the trolley and moving further in the aisle. Lucky was indeed attractive, with his dark chocolate skin (though not that dark), long hair, lean muscled and tall... he was also smart and strong but he never shifted in his Phoenix form not even the were-phoenix form that Aisha, Hamlin and Rufus morphed into.. not even in the form his father Plutonic shifted into.. he didn't even extract his pair of wings, or claws or even caw.. what they always did every red moon.... all that stopped twelve years ago... he never shifted nor morphed after his mother died, it was as if that part of him was buried along with her but still, he learnt martial arts, sword skills... he mastered a lot that he was like a druid in their pack, (anyways, his mom was a druid so it was expected that he'd take over a few of her aspects) with all the knowledge he knew and spells he mastered morphing into a Phoenix didn't matter to him. All that seemed to matter to him was the pack's safety (at times especially if they were facing another supernatural creature), his books and above all the confinements of his room away from the outside world.

Lucky never attended the FireCross ceremony where the ancestral Phoenix chose the next Phoenix and all that. When was it? Yeah right after his mother had passed on... No one else went and Plutonic didn't want to force him to go... the boy was still mourning his mother, everyone was, so how could they just go celebrate a FireCross ceremony that the clan wanted so badly and waited so eagerly to go to?. The clan wasn't there to attend it, his mom wasn't around either. Lucky lost all the ethuathism and excitement he had had, it was replaced by sadness and an empty void in his heart. Lucky didn't see the importance of going to that ceremony. He didn't go. None of them went and Rufus thought that it was one of the reasons why Lucky couldn't morphe into any form of a Phoenix. But he didn't blame him, no he didn't, he wasn't blaming him.

Rufus understood.

Lucky was still mourning his mother.

The pack was.

They we're all still mourning the lost clan members as well. Every year, as that dark, sad day approached they wouldn't morphe into their Pheonetic form no matter what and they would also light up paper candles for them... that day always passed by quietly and sadly. None of them would see Lucky on that day and no one would ask about his whereabouts when they saw him. Everyone respected the way he mourned, everyone respected his silence and they would give him the space he needed. Even his father.

Lucky was no longer himself and no one questioned. But Aisha suddenly started including him in sessions or parties they'd attend because she was worried. Worried that her best friend's son was getting lost in his own mind and she was afraid that one day she would wake up and find him insane.. she knew that Lucky was under depression and people with depression shouldn't stay alone or by themselves. Aisha figured out that she could at least try to comfort the boy in other ways even emphasizing that the pack hold short conversations with Lucky whenever they could.. touch him from time to time so as to bring the sense of affection and love back in his life. It was working though but in a very painfully slow pace. They didn't mind, Lucky needed time to adjust and that's what they did but in the meantime they made him tag along in the general cleaning of the mansion they lived in, go to grocery shopping with Rufus or Aisha and at times both, made or rather forced him participate in the home sports that the estate they lived in held twice every month and even made him prepare dinner at times which at least is the only thing he willingly did without complaining. Lucky prepared the best meat stews, lasagnas and baked the best cakes and brownies.

Rufus took out some meat tender spices from the shelves placing them in his trolley. That was the spice that Lucky loved using while cooking meat stews from the game they usually brought home from their hunting at times which obviously Lucky didn't like to participate in. "What are you doing?". Lucky asked from behind him. Hell, he hadn't heard him approach.

Rufus took in a sigh of relief, "Shopping!". he said in a 'duh' tone.

"Your guard was down. I thought I was the only one who spaced out". Lucky interjected as they walked through the snacks and drinks aisle. He added a few cans of coke and bags of different flavored deritos and chips in the trolley that Rufus pushed.

"I don't know what you're talking about". Rufus remarked. Yes, he had spaced out and he wouldn't openly agree that his mind had wandered off to think about the other boy standing next to him.

"You've been here for almost two hours and the only thing you got are teabags and spices?. I was waiting for you outside at the lot". Lucky retorted with a gesture of his thumb towards the exit.

"I was debating on what to choose. If you can't see there are a lot of varieties and qualities here". Rufus retorted back.

"And that's why I always suggest we just do online shopping!. We'll save more time". Lucky chimed in as he added a few cans of Redbull in the trolley as well, those were for his father and Hamlin. 'We don't get drunk anyway. I wonder why they still insist on drinking this'. Lucky thought as he added more cans of other carbonated sweet nonalcoholic drinks for Aisha and Araminta.

"Let's get bacon?". Rufus asked with a tight smile. He hadn't meant to be so into his childhood buddy. He always thought whatever he felt was mere admiration for the other boy but he was wrong, whatever he was feeling was stronger than just "mere admiration" and he was falling hard into this none gravitational feeling. But he didn't mind. No he didn't.

He didn't mind doing Lucky's laundry or cleaning up his room and rearranging his books the way he liked, he didn't mind making sure that the other young man smiled... which was as rare as it could be... he didn't mind being there for him or listening to Lucky rumble on and on about the facts and statistics of some unknown myths or legends he found... he didn't mind watching Lucky while doing some school projects which obviously he wouldn't turn in so Rufus had the pleasure to use them at school and Lucky wouldn't complain. But what hurt was that the boy never felt the same way or maybe he did but didn't know how to show it?... Rufus didn't know and the more he thought about it the more his head throbbed and heart ached... Rufus had no Jade!. He only had a fireball like the whole pack had but he had no Jade and he never said a word about it. His mother, Aisha knew but kept quiet, for one; he didn't know how many lifetimes he would have but that didn't matter, having a jade meant you'd have a mate because later you'd have to give your mate the jade so that meant he'd have no mate nonetheless, he didn't want to make himself think about that... he wanted to think that he was Lucky's mate and when the time came maybe Lucky would give him a piece of his Jade? Maybe that's why he had no jade because he was meant to hold Lucky's??.

Rufus smiled at the thought receiving a questioning glare from Lucky as they stacked up some bacon in the trolley before moving on but he shrugged and Lucky didn't question it. If only he knew what Lucky thought and felt then maybe the ache and longing in his heart would subside. If only....