Chapter 258

Luca glances up at me. “Nothing,” he murmurs, blushing a little bit as he gathers his book back up. As he does I realize that his actions were not performative or attention-seeking at all, but instead the very real result of very real frustrations.

In a flash, I wonder how and why I didn’t feel that down the bond – has he been closing that on me? Or…

“Seriously, Luc,” Rafe says from his chair, leaning forward towards him. “What’s up?”

“I’m sorry,” Luca says, shaking his head and looking down at his book. “I didn’t mean to interrupt – just…pretend it didn’t happen. Book…slipped out of my hands, is all.”

“Luca,” Jesse says, quietly closing his own book in his lap and peering at my mate. “We…genuinely want to know. Seriously, four of us are in the same class – maybe we can help.”

“In the same class but in vastly different groups,” Luca murmurs, looking around the room with a flash of embarrassment at Ben, Daphne, and me. “You guys covered this stuff last semester. Just…I’ll figure it out.”

“Well, if we already covered it,” Jesse says, moving softly as he slips to the floor and moves to Luca’s empty side. “Then we can help.”

We all sit quietly, Ben pretending to read and Daphne continuing to sew, as Luca sighs and looks back down at his book. “I just…have a lot of trouble understanding these schematics,” Luca says with a sigh, putting the book down on the table where everyone can see it. I lean forward a little, peering at the book, confused.

“What is it?” I ask, interested and feeling for my mate, trying to pass encouragement down the bond but feeling it hit a bit of a brick wall. What’s up with that, anyway?

“It’s…the history of a battle,” Luca says, glancing over at me, continuing to sound embarrassed. “The map shows…where the troops were when they started, and where and how they moved, how many troops they lost. And then the textbook poses a question – what’s the best thing to do next? And I’m supposed to write a damn essay on what the best move is, and why but…” he sighs, shaking his head and dropping it, looking absolutely defeated. “I just can’t make sense of it – I don’t understand this map stuff.”

“Oh,” Jesse says, nodding his sympathy and reaching for the book, tilting it towards the pair of them. “I mean, it’s not instinctual, Luca – it makes sense that you’re struggling with it, but it just takes time. It’s like learning to decode something, or read a new language – you just have to get used to it, and then it starts to make sense.”

Luca grimaces at him a little, like this isn’t precisely helpful right now, and Jesse laughs, his eyes crinkling up as he shrugs at Luca. “I’m sorry,” he says, “I don’t have a better answer than that.”

“It’s cool,” Luca sighs, taking the book back and laying it flat on the table again. “I’m just…screwed.”

“You’re not screwed,” Rafe says gently from his chair, his deep voice ringing out. “We can help you learn it. But actually…” he grimaces now, like Luca isn’t going to like what he has to say next very much either, “the person who can really help you is…”

Rafe’s grimace deepens as, to my surprise, he shifts his eyes to Jackson.

We all go a little still and quiet as each of our gazes moves to my right, to my big tough mate, whose head is down, studying his own book.

Silence rings out in the room for a beat and then Jackson raises his head, looking around in surprise. “Wait, what?”

“Jackson can read a battle map faster and better than anyone I’ve ever seen,” Rafe says, casting a hand out towards Jacks even as he looks at Luca. “He can just…glance at it and know exactly what happened. It’s impressive.”

Luca scowls, shifting his eyes to Jackson, clearly bitter and a little bit jealous and looking like he’s not precisely sure how that information helps him. At all.

Jackson drops his eyes to his lap and gives a little shrug. “It’s not a flex or anything - we’ve been doing it since we were kids. I learned how to read a battle schematic before I learned the alphabet. Like Jesse said, it’s just…time.”

“Well, I stand by it,” Rafe says, settling back into his chair and pretending to turn his attention back to his own homework. “If you want help, Jackson is your man.”

The room rings silent for a moment and I keep my eyes on my brother. When Rafe’s own eyes flick back up a moment and he glances between Jackon and Luca, I smirk – because I knew he wasn’t really reading. He’s just as desperate to see how this plays out as I am.

The silence soon grows…awkward…as Luca sits, scowling at the book, and the rest of us just…wait.

“Look, man,” Jackson says, low and serious, “I’d be happy to talk you through it if you think it’d be helpful. But it’s also fine to figure it out yourself.”

Luca heaves a big sigh and grabs his book up, looking over at Jackson but appearing none too happy about it as he gives in. “Fine,” he says, his mouth twisting a bit. “If I don’t get help I’m going to fail this assignment, and I’d prefer not to do that, so…can you make any sense of this?”

I watch in a bit of awe as Luca passes his book across me and into Jackson’s hands.

“Oh, yeah,” Jackson says, his eyebrows going up and his face brightening. “The battle of Thrimpole. This is…this is actually a fun one.”

“Awesome,” Luca says, totally dry, his tone implying that he thinks it’s the opposite.

Jackson looks over at me for the first time and clears his throat a little, expectant. I stare at him for a second and then realize what he wants. Instantly, I scramble backwards, taking my own book with me, and then I hop to my feet, moving to the couch where Daphne and Ben make a little room for me between them.

Luca and Jackson move a little closer together, bending over the book, and I watch in awe as the two of them…start to work together.

Because I never, ever thought I’d see it.

“Close your mouth,” Ben whispers next to me, giving me a little nudge with his elbow.

I look over at him and then laugh when I realize that I actually am gaping. I snap my mouth shut and both of my mates glance up at me simultaneously and then back towards their work. Shaking my head, I lean against Daphne, not even bothering to pretend to look down at my own homework.

“You’re going to embarrass them,” she whispers, keeping her own eyes on her sewing.

“Oh whatever,” I murmur back. “I’m not missing this.”

As I watch, Jackson asks Luca some questions about the schematic, working to see what Luca does and does not understand. As they talk quietly, I realize how natural a teacher Jackson actually is – especially with this stuff, which he knows like the back of his hand. In no time, Jackson has a pretty strong command of Luca’s abilities and begins to show him what else he needs to know.

But, as they work, it’s immediately clear that Luca grows frustrated – not with Jackson, but with himself.

“Look, I just don’t get it,” Luca says, sighing and leaning back on one hand as he gestures to the map with the other. “I know what the red arrows mean, I know what they’re supposed to tell me and the order in which they progress. I just don’t…see it the way you do – the battle, in your head.” He clenches his teeth and takes a deep breath through his nose, hanging his head a bit. “I’m never going to get this.”

“Yes you are,” Jackson says, frowning at Luca. “Look, if you don’t get it this way, let’s just…try something else.”

And then, to my delight and surprise, Jackson glances back at the nook and then up at me, asking the one question which the nerdly little bookworm in me has been waiting years to be asked.

“Hey, do you think we could borrow some school supplies?”

“Yes,” I breathe, delighted, a huge smile taking over my face. “Yes, of course! What do you need?”