When Lightning Ignites [COMPLETED]

Chapter 7: New Friends

"Come on," Jamie banged the door open the next morning. "We're going out. Enough sitting around in here feeling sorry for yourself."

"But what if—" She didn't want to say their names out loud. "What if someone sees me?"

He shook his head. "Since when are you afraid? This isn't like you, and I want you to snap out of it. You're my little sister that is determined to take on the world until she becomes a famous dancer, right? You're not going to let any of this slow you down, are you?" He waved his hand around.

"I'm only two minutes younger than you!" But her heart warmed from his words. Despite the last few months, she wasn't used to being scared or worried. But this was why she'd never wanted a relationship before. It was complicating her focus.

An hour later they sat at a table by themselves in the back of the coffeehouse. The worn wood tables and dark walls with original artwork felt like a second home. The owner had even come over to find out if she was doing okay, making her feel welcome again. She'd been a bit afraid the lady might never want her to come back. People around here seemed to blame others for all sorts of weird things.

Her shoulders were tense, and her eyes darted to the front door every time it opened, worried Luke or Rory would walk in. Someone here might let them know where she was. She kept feeling gazes rest on her, but when she caught them, they quickly looked away. It was odd having everyone pay attention to her, but she couldn't blame them after what had happened here last time.

"Would you chill out?" Jamie whispered, but he didn't look at her. He was too busy playing a game on his tablet. They'd sat next to each other, since the table only had one cushioned booth side, and he had propped his feet up on the chair across from them.

"What if one of them comes in?"

"Then you can ignore them, or we can leave." He smirked, still focused on his game. "Seriously, if they come in, I'll ask them to leave for you, okay? You don't even have to talk to them. I'll be happy to chase away any potential boyfriend." He sighed, putting the tablet down. "Now I'm going to have to try that level all over again."

Julie smiled at him, feeling her shoulders relax. She looked at the tablet then around the coffeehouse at others working quietly on laptops, ignoring the faces that averted from her as she glanced around. "Don't you think it's weird that everyone has laptops here to take notes on?"

"That's what you want to talk about?" He raised an eyebrow. She glared at him. "Okay. Yeah, so what?" Jamie replied after a minute. "Do you want one? I'll talk to Dad for you since you won't."

She ignored the jab. He wasn't happy about her not talking to their parents, but it wasn't any of his business. "Magic and technology. Isn't there a problem with them being together or something? Don't they go haywire?"

"Don't listen to that made–up crap. Just because humans don't understand it and try to create a box around it doesn't mean it's true. We drive cars, use TVs, cell phones, and computers. Why in the world wouldn't we? Technology couldn't care less that you can shoot lightning out of your fingertips." He snorted. Her face felt hot, and she knew her cheeks were red. "Well, you might be a special case. Dad should buy a replacement plan for you if you get a computer in case you singe the keyboard."

"Jamie!" Julie hissed. She couldn't believe that he was being so relaxed about her abilities. Of course he'd had years to get used to the idea. She'd only had a few days.

"Stop being so weird about all of this. It's not going away. Pull up your big girl pants and become the pain in the butt you usually are." Jamie poked her in the side. "Besides, there are families here that use their abilities to fuel technology. Like—"