TSFS: The Return Of Xavier

Hotel In Paradise

Bianca

We slept in late the next morning, being exhausted from being behind the wheel for over a day. It felt nice to finally sleep in an actual, comfy bed without waking up to a sore, cramped back.

My car sickness was starting to fade away as I woke up the next morning, around noon, Eli following in my footsteps shortly after.

"Morning," I say to him.

He lifts himself up, yawning, before returning the favor. "Good morning."

Eli's hair was totally bedhead, pointing in all different directions as the eyebags that were placed under his eyes the night before, slowly started to fade in color.

"So what are we doing today?" Eli asks, quickly slipping out of bed and towards the hotel kitchen that was provided. It was small, but useless. He touched the cold granite counter, reaching into one of the wooden carved cabinets to get a coffee mug. Eli was definitely not a morning person. Not that I was either.

"We're gonna go around town and try to find Jackson." I simply say. The confidence lingering off as Eli turned around to look at me like I was crazy. "We're just going to causally do that? This town is huge, this whole planet and you think we're actually going to go out and find him in this?"

I took a step back from his answer, narrowing my eyes at him. I watched carefully as he poured the hot black coffee into the white filled mug. "The only reason you came with me was TO find Jackson, and now you're telling me it's not possible? What exactly do you want to do then?"

He takes a sip of his coffee, only for his eyebrows to furrow from the hot heat that hit his tongue dramatically. "Bianca, I understand you wanna find him, but he could be anywhere. Hell, we don't even know if he's actually in Ohio. We just assumed because the compass stopped working as soon we drove into town. Who knows, he could be all the way in Illinois."

A spark of anger exploded in my head, warning me to just go into town by myself, because clearly I can't depend on my friend, who agreed to go with me, help me find someone.

"Ever heard of a locator spell?" Eli randomly says.

My eyes perk up, the silence in the room raditating. "If you're so sure he's in this town, specifically, then perform a locator spell and find him."

He was right.

My face turns red. I totally forgot that those were a thing, and I completely dumbfounded myself. "Shit," I mutter under my breath.

He only raises his eyebrows at me, giving me a snarky smirk that just screamed, "I told you so."

"Let's go down to the cafeteria, get some breakfast, talk over some details, I'm sure we'll find him."

Before I could open my mouth to object, Eli was already out the door, with his hot black coffee in his hand, and a bubbly smile on his face.

-

We made our way down to the breakfast bar, taking our seats at some empty area, somewhere no one could hear us. The plan was only cracked when a worker came towards us, specifically the one that gave us a room for the night.

He had a red entree on, buttons slipping down him, and his bleached blonde hair streaked back before him. He had his basic round glasses, and his pale skin reflecting off the red choice of color.

I saw Eli smile against his lips, trying to retain himself, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Good morning," the young man said.

"Morning," I slowly say. As much as I wanted to be nice, my mind wouldn't get the right idea. It didn't matter anyway, as the man's eyes were simply peeled to Eli.

"Good morning--" Eli pauses "Zen,"

In Zen's hand held a clear glass jar of water, in his other hand was a plate of a series of muffin flavors. "Can I offer you anything to eat? Most of the customers ate the muffins, but I have some left if any of you guys want them." His voice was high, and he seemed to talk at a fast pace.

Eli glanced at me, I tilted my head at him. He then cleared his throat and smiled. "Sure, we'll take some muffins."

"Great! I'll lie the plate out for you two, take as many as you'd like." and with that, Zen walked away, the water still sitting in his hand.

Eli stared at the muffins, grabbing the last chocolate one, which was his favorite. I just stared at him, containing my laughs. He seemed to be disturbed by my presence, "hotel in paradise, huh?" I joke.

Eli laughed, shaking his hand as he took a bite into his muffin, some of the crumbs falling onto the plate sat below him. "What? I wanted to be nice, plus that salad bar over there doesn't look that appetizing. Who the hell eats salad for breakfast?"

I only broke out into more laughter, as I gave in, eating one of the blueberry muffins on the platter. "Whatever. So are you coming with me to get ingredients for a locator spell?"

Eli thinks for a second, then says, "why didn't pack one in your bags?"

"Because I didn't think of a locator spell alright." I confess, pulling a section of my muffin apart, plopping it into my mouth. "That's like, rule number one of being a witch, stalking people down. You failed." Eli's face turns into a frown, then laughs.

"Sorry I don't wanna sound crazy." I snap at him.

"Girl, you're crazy for even doing this in the first place." He remarks.

"And you're even crazier for proposing the idea in the first place."

"IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN!"

We both break up into more laughter, almost choking on our muffins, sinking further into our seats.

"Fine, we're both crazy." I laugh, finally catching my breath.

"Crazy together."