Tragic Magic [boyxboy]

Chapter One

I woke with a small shout as the plane thudded down in Heathrow Airport. Fortunately the noise of the actual landing masked my shock so nobody noticed, but it didn’t stop me being in a bad mood about being in Heathrow Airport to begin with.

                I’m not typically an overly negative person. I’m not unicorns and rainbows either, but I don’t usually complain this much. It’s just that my friends and I have been planning this trip – well. Not this trip, obviously. The trip to France – since we hit puberty and four years later it just seems massively unfair that they all get to go on the working holiday of a lifetime while I get to babysit for three months in Rainy Central.

                I disembarked along with everyone else and trudged through passport control, finally making my way to baggage collection (I didn’t have much. What was in my wardrobe wasn’t really conducive to active life in London Town) and into the Arrivals Lounge to meet whoever was coming to pick me up. I glanced around, scanning the signs people were holding to try and find my name. When I did, I almost wished I hadn’t.

                On a huge A3 sheet of paper, surrounded by glitter, sparkles, stickers of unicorns and hearts and cuddly creatures, was my name written in pink and purple crayon: CODY JAMES.

                This was bad. People were already nudging each other and pointing at the sign, laughing. It was held over the heads of the crowd so I couldn’t really make out who was underneath it, but whoever it was, I wanted desperately to kill.

                There was no avoiding it; I’d have to go over. What else could I do? Get back on the plane? My return ticket wasn’t dated until August. I couldn’t camp out in Heathrow until then.

                I took a deep breath and clutched my two duffle bags in my fists, making my way through the crowd until I reached the offending sign. There was a little girl sitting on a pink box – had she brought it with her? – with her elbows on her knees and her hands on her face. They guy holding the sign had his back to me now, as he turned around in a circle slowly to try and give me, wherever I was, the best view of the sign.

                ‘Uh, hey,’ I said awkwardly. ‘I think you’re looking for me. I’m Cody James.’

                The little girl raised her eyes to look up at me, her hands squishing her cheeks. Even in my apathetic state, I had to admit it was cute.

                I looked up when the guy turned around and dropped the sign to a more respectable height, and caught my breath. What was this guy doing in England? He looked like a rock star!

                ‘Oh thank god,’ he muttered, pushing the sign at the little girl. ‘I was not holding that thing for five seconds longer.’

                ‘You’re just jealous that I’m better at arts and crafts than you,’ she said haughtily, struggling with the size of the sign. She couldn’t be more than six or seven, with chin-length dark brown hair and bright blue eyes like who I assumed was her brother. As far as he went, he had startling ocean-coloured eyes, honey and caramel hair and an amazing, almost sun-kissed complexion. Where did he get that? Was it fake or something? If it was then he was definitely gay. And if he was gay then I so had dibs.

                ‘No, I just let you think you are,’ he teased, flicking her on the shoulder.

                ‘Um,’ I interrupted before this could go on too long and it became embarrassing to ask, ‘what are your names?’

                The boy frowned for a second and then his face cleared. ‘Didn’t they tell you anything about this job at the agency?’ he asked.

                ‘No. It was a last-minute thing. I’m actually supposed to be in France-’

                ‘Typical,’ he interrupted, turning around and walking through the now almost empty Arrivals Lounge towards the door. ‘Well I’m Tristan and this is Anabelle. We live in Notting Hill – no, not like the movie,’ he added before I could interrupt, without even looking at me. They both had those delicious upper-class British accents, like Hugh Grant. ‘We’ve got a chef and a lady comes daily to clean the house, so all you’ll be required to do is keep her occupied and get her to her appointments on time.’

                Her? ‘Wait,’ I interjected before he could go on, ‘do you mean Anabelle’s the only kid I have to look after?’

                He stopped mid-stride and turned around to look at me carefully. ‘They really didn’t tell you anything, did they?’

                I shrugged helplessly. ‘No.’

                He rolled his eyes and started to walk again, when I realized Anabelle was still struggling with the huge poster, and seemed to have forgotten her pink box.

                ‘Here, let me help you with that,’ I said quietly, crouching down and reaching out to take it off her. She shook her head however, biting her lip and focusing intently on her task. After a few more seconds she gave up, lay it out the ground, stared at it for bit and muttered something, then picked it up and folded it like it was no big deal.

                ‘Anabelle!’ Tristan’s voice snapped from a few feet away, his tone angry.

                ‘Sorry!’ she said, immediately apologetic. ‘Sorry. I just couldn’t do it.’

                I looked from one to the other in complete confusion as Tristan’s face softened.

                ‘Don’t do it again,’ he muttered, turning back around and striding towards a sleek silver car parked not too far from the exit of the airport. How had they gotten such a good parking space? And what the hell were they talking about?

                ‘Anabelle,’ I said softly, not wanting to get her in trouble with her brother again. ‘Didn’t you have like a pink box or something with you inside?’

                ‘Yeah, I have it here,’ she said brightly, holding it up for me to see. I blinked in confusion. I could have sworn she didn’t have that a second ago. I shook my head; I must be already jetlagged. Or else I had been right about England and it was completely backwards here and I was losing my mind.

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A/N: Just a short first chapter to introduce you all to the main characters :) The real fun starts tomorrow haha :p

Also, I have added a cast ^.^