Just One Night [SHORT STORY]

Chapter Six

"What did you say?"
"Come on Jesse, don't make me repeat myself."
Jesse couldn't believe he had the audacity to act like she was being difficult; like she'd done something wrong.
"You better repeat yourself! You told me you could get me home!"
Archer held out his index finger as though he were trying to silence her, "Hey, what I actually said was, I would find you a way home."
Jesse moved towards him, her steps uneven on the sand, "Don't you dare try and use semantics with me asshole! You lied to me!" Jesse stabbed her finger into the centre of his hard, muscular chest and he held up his hand in surrender.
"I know I did, okay but we can still figure something out."
Jesse shook her head and scoffed, "We? What, we? You have to find out how to get me home. You're the powerful witch, remember and you lied!"
"Like you haven't lied to me for years!"
"What are you tal–" Jesse dragged her hands through her braids, threatening to pull them out in her frustration. "Archer, how many times do we have to go over this? I am not Alex! I don't know what she did to you but you can't punish me for it!"
"I know that!" he finally snapped at her, all the emotion he was seemingly holding back rushing to the forefront as he looked down at her. Even while she raged at what he'd done, Jesse couldn't deny how beautiful he looked in the rising sun. She wasn't sure how long they'd been out, how far into the twenty-two hours of night they had eaten up with fun and frolicking; but she could see dawn approaching. She hated that the sight of the sunrise was almost terrifying. No matter how angry she was with Archer right now, she knew she didn't want her time with him to end. She had to go home, she would go home but did it have to be right now?
"Listen, I didn't mean to lie but you were here after all this time and-"
"I don't care, Archer! You lied to me and took me on this bullshit night and I've had enough. I want to go home, my real home and I want to go now."
"Then go!" he bellowed at her. "You left easily enough before so why not get yourself out of her. It's not like you're not powerful enough!"
"I don't have any power!" she screamed back.
"Then how did you get here?" He returned with the same anger but they both knew they weren't even fighting about the same thing anymore.
"I don't know much," Archer finally said. "But I know enough about portals to understand that only a really powerful coven can open them. The need to open one can only happen if the witches casting it have a deep enough passion for what's on the other side!"
"If you know so much then why can't you do it? Why can't you get me home?" Jesse fired at him, getting desperate now.
"Didn't you hear what I just said? You have to want to open one and I don't want to!"
"Why not?" she screamed.
"Because I don't want you to leave me. Again!" Archer roared at her.

The silence that followed was deafening.
In the hours they'd spent together, Jesse hadn't stopped to think about what spending time together would be doing to Archer, the Archer that was in love with a woman who had seemingly returned to him. She knew she was feeling more inclined to stay with Archer but that didn't mean that she could. It was madness. She didn't belong here, wherever here was. Sure, he said it was New York and it looked and smelled like New York but there was magic here and magic did not exist. No matter what had happened that was evidence to the contrary. Who was to say that she could survive here for longer than tonight?
There was too much uncertainty and it was rooted in too much pain. Archer's pain at losing Alex and Jesse's pain in finding Archer and having to leave him for fear of staying.
"Arch-"
"Forget it."
Archer cut her off and with a click of his fingers and a few choice words, they were back in Manhattan, standing beside his motorcycle outside of the Guild. Jesse wondered idly why they didn't just appear inside the Guild but didn't have the courage to ask. Archer was mad. She could feel his rage rolling off him in waves but she didn't know how to address it even if she wanted to.

She was aware that she had broken Archer somehow by making him admit his feelings for her. When she'd met him, despite his insufferable attitude and irritating smirk, she had liked Archer from the start even if she didn't want to admit it. He had awakened in her a desire to be happier. He had bet her that he could make her smile but it wasn't only her face that had erupted with elation, it was her very soul.
She couldn't explain how different he made her feel without even trying but these past few hours with him had been the best of her life and she didn't want to let that go, even if she knew she had to.
What had he said about the portals? About a coven powerful enough to open it because they wanted it? She didnt think she and the girls were a coven but they had been messing around with a love spell and that stupid portal had brought her here...to Archer.
That couldn't mean...
"Scoop will know what to do." Archer finally said as they climbed the steps back into the Guild and then toward the common room. "She's the smartest witch I know after..."
He didn't need to finish his sentence and a silence descended on them once more, filled with all the words they werent sharing with each other. Jesse didn't know how much longer she could deal with this. Yes, she was angry at him for lying but in the long hours she'd spent with Archer, she'd grown to like him and she didn't want their last moments together to be filled with animosity.