9. Jupiter

CHAPTER 9

JUPITER

I watch him carefully from across the table, my eyes taking in every single detail. From the way he picks up his cup to the way he eats some of the food, I catalogue it in my mind. White hasn't been quite the same since he woke up. Part of me wants to fix that. Part of me thinks I've completely ruined him by not being able to control my powers. The guilt that eats away at me makes it difficult to focus on anything else. I've started taking notes even, notating any strange tick, every odd movement.

While White isn't a completely different person now, there are noticeably clear differences. Before, he preferred his tea without sugar. Now, he pours an insane amount of sugar into his cup. Before, he preferred to know every facet of what I was doing. Now, he busies himself with staring off into space, his eyes glazed over as he drifts off. Though he is still my White, we only know a portion of his new powers. We don't know what they'll cause him, what they'll make him.

The ability to stop time. I'd have never thought it possible if I hadn't seen it myself. The few times he's tried it, it's only lasted a few seconds at most, but I'm certain he'll be able to control it for longer soon. White has always been proficient in his powers. My own powers still refuse to listen to me. I'm starting to believe they're not really my powers in the first place.

"You're studying me like a bug under a microscope again," White interrupts my thoughts. He doesn't look over at me, his gaze fixed on a small smudge on the wall in front of him.

"Should I apologize or just pretend like I'm not doing it in the future when I am?" I ask, tilting my head. "Which would make you more comfortable?"

He sighs and looks over at me. "Every day the numbness fades a little more and my love for you expands more fully. But I'm not. . . whole. Something is. . . I don't have the words to describe what I need or enough knowledge to answer your questions."

My chest squeezes. "I'm sorry if I'm overwhelming you."

"You care. I understand that. If not for you, I'd still be asleep." His eyes flash silver, so pretty and far more coherent than he'd been when he'd first woken. Now, my rabbit is in his eyes fully, but every now and then, he disappears back into space.

"I'm the reason you woke up?" I ask. He hasn't spoken of his time asleep before now. I've been giving him the space to heal, but since he's mentioned it now, it's probably safe to ask. "How?"

"I remember you there." He looks down at his cup of tea. "You were dream walking."

I nod. "It was the only way I could make sure you were okay."

"I wasn't." His hands circle his cup. "I was dying."

The words I want to say get stuck in my throat. There's so much I want to tell him, to ask him, but I can't. I can't overwhelm him. He's still healing.

"Don't look so sad," White murmurs. "I'm still alive."

"I know, but I?—"

"I'm alive, Jupiter. That's what matters," he interrupts. "There's no use worrying about what might have been."

Someone knocks on the doorframe and we both look up. I'm more startled than White is, my body jerking in response, and I accidently tip my teacup over, spilling the tea everywhere.

"Oh, I'm sorry to scare you," Bell says, rushing forward to help me clean up the mess. "I was just coming to see how things were going."

"It's okay," I breathe, mopping up the mess. "And things are okay. We were just having some tea."

Bell nods. "That's good to hear. Blue and I are going to go out for a bit. We'll be back before you know it though."

"Sounds good," I reply, smiling tightly at her. When she disappears back out the door, I sigh. "I fear we're starting to wear out our welcome here despite what they say," I tell White. "We've been here while the others left so long ago. It's been months now."

"They wouldn't be so hospitable if they wanted us to leave," White points out.

He tenses, a frown pulling at his face.

"What's wrong?" I ask, worried. "Are you okay? Do you hurt?"

"I just. . ." He shakes his head. "I feel strange all of a sudden. I'm not sure?—"

A knock comes on the door frame again. Like last time, I jump, thrown off guard suddenly by the interrupting sound again. When I jump, my arm jerks, and my teacup tips over. What was empty before is somehow suddenly full again and it goes all over the table.

"Oh, I'm sorry to scare you," Bell says, rushing forward to help clean up the mess. She grabs one of the napkins and starts blotting it. "I was just coming to see how things were going."

My brows furrow. "What do you mean? You were just here. You already told us."

"Did I?" she asks, frowning. "No, I'm certain I didn't. I was just going to let you know Blue and I are going out for a bit. We'll be back before you know it though."

I set the teacup back upright and stare at her. "I know. You just told us, Bell."

"Of course I just told you right now, silly," she says, shaking her head. "Oh, Logan might be roaming around. I made sure to give him plenty of food, so you don't have to worry about feeding him."

"Okay," I answer, confused. "See you later."

She waves and disappears back out the door.

"Well, that was strange," I say to White. When I look back at him, he's rubbing his head. "Are you okay? You said you felt strange?"

Another knock comes from the door jamb. I jerk and knock over my teacup. Tea spills all over the table. It was empty. I know it was empty this time. But suddenly, it's not.

"Oh, I'm sorry to scare you," Bell says, rushing forward to help clean up the mess. She grabs one of the napkins and starts blotting it. "I was just coming to see how things were going."

"What the hell is happening right now?" I ask, standing up with wide eyes. "Bell, this is the third time you've told us that!"

"Is it?" she asks, frowning. "No, I'm certain I didn't. I was just going to let you know Blue and I are going out for a bit. We'll be back before you know it though."

I stare at her, before flicking my eyes back to White where he's holding his head. "Okay. See you later," I tell Bell.

She waves and disappears.

Immediately, I move around the table and kneel before White, turning him to me in his chair. "White, is this you? What's going on?"

"I can't stop it," he rasps. "I. . . I don't know how I'm doing it."

"Okay," I rasp, tugging his hands away. "Deep breaths. We'll figure this out. It's okay."

A knock comes at the door jamb. I jerk. White's teacup spills all over the table.

"Oh, I'm sorry to scare you," Bell says as she rushes forward to help. . .