In the eyes of the Jaguar

"It's not worth a penny. I was just trying to solve a pattern of emotion related riddles. Tell me, if you can, what do you think is the foundation of any friendship? And what do you know that leads you right and wrong? Then again, I couldn't stop thinking about her. It's, it's like she's in my head. I just don't know what to do." Dami smiled knowingly when she realized that 'her' was Dorothy. She needed to let Dorothy know that she had another admirer. She tapped the record button on her phone. "Wait, what did you say about her? Who is she?" "I said I couldn't get Dot out of my head. It's terrifying how much control she has over me but she doesn't use it. I don't understand why, but I know she's different , I mean, in a good way. When most girls I met throw themselves at my feet, she walks away without glancing at my direction. When girls basically kiss the ground that I walk on, she'll act like I don't exist anymore. She's strict no nonsense person and keeps you on your toes. Man, she's amazing. Just, I can't tell her that I like her because she's in love with my brother and I don't want to wreck her life. But how on earth did she not notice me. That's a puzzle I need to solve. I don't know if you'd understand." "Ofcourse I do?! You know, you sound like Dylan when he was telling Dustin how he felt about me thirty years ago. He said something about how when he kissed and I pulled back, it was different. How he was used to it being the other way around. How confused he felt when I almost broke up with him. How he knew I was perfect for him. I knew that if I had listened to one more line I would have cried thus betraying my presence. I had to leave. But before I left, his brother, who used to crush on me, told him to go get his girl. It was just different. Not the attitude dude down the street who seemed ever brewing with a cup of coffee by my doorstep. That was a humble Dylan. The first time the world had ever seen it. I knew I had to say yes to him. I knew I felt the same. But there was one little problem. Your dad still liked me and he wanted to marry me. But no matter how many times I told him that he's not my type and that his mystery woman is still waiting out there for him, he refused to let me be. I was never going to tell him that my best friend, Jayne Warner had a little crush on him. I believe he found out days after my wedding but he dumped her for another sweet heart three months later. And that's were my story ends. I didn't choose your dad not because I didn't like him cause I did. It was because I didn't trust him. I controlled my emotions and then let them decide. My heart was what I followed and he left in anger. THEA, that's the password to her door. Because, her name is Dorothea. Thanks for the discussion, I really enjoyed it." She smiled and turned then walked away. He was about to enter the room where the crack was when Justin called out his name. "Dude, supper." Just then Dorothy walked in. "Wow, it is cold out there. The night is fast approaching. If we want to move, we have to do it now. Or we could leave on Monday." Everyone except for the girls voted leaving that night. "So it's settled. Monday morning it is." Dylan had more important issues in mind." Thea, where did you go. And who was with you?" She basically ignored him and sat at the table. She picked up a saucer and a glass, poured out some milk and took six cookies sat at the table. Dami looked at her and shook her head. She turned to look at Jason and gave him a wink." Thea, he is your father, he has a right to be worried about you. Now be a good girl and answer your dad. Where did you go and who was with you?" Dorothy smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'm answering you, not worrymuch. I took a spin with Wilbur and got some treats for Diana and Jasmine. Took a look at Humphrey's foot. It's healed. Also,I saw him. But he didn't know I was there." She picked up her tray, stood up and left. She did so to avoid questions. Immediately she left, a discussion started. "So he is still after her. That Nathaniel of a kid. I'm going through with my plan on what she calls 'overprotection'. She had better understand that it is for her good." Dlyan stood up from the table and went to make a series of calls. The boys finally understood why she shut them out. While the whole palaver was going on, Jason managed to slip out. He walked out and entered through the back door. He went back to the room with the crack. He did the password and the wall replied "Welcome sweetheart, nice to see you Thea." He reset the system such that if he needed to gain access it would be his fingerprint or her eyes. He still allowed the riddle password to stay. Meanwhile, downstairs, every other person had gone to bed. He waited patiently on the window sill, which was shaped in form of a heart shape and below a door leading to her room. She came in with the tray of milk and cookies, a cupcake and a pink book in her hand. She took a bite out of her cupcake and sat on her bed. "Whoa, another perfect day over. And right now, is me time, finally." She turned on her night light, a soft music, picked up the booklet and wrote 'Dear diary,' then picked up the glass of milk. Jason, still on the sill, spoke out. "This place is a girl's heaven. When did you design this?" Dorothy almost dropped the glass on the ground. "Who the hell is that?" Jason knew better than blowing his cover too early. "Who do you think it is, Dot?" He remembered that he was the only one who called her Dot." I guess you just realized that you blew your cover, Jase. What do you want?" "To talk. That's all I'm asking for." "How funny. I guess you've forgotten I'm not talking to you or any other guy for the weekend." "Please hear me out. Five minutes, please?" "Except you beg for it. Then I will give you as long as you want. I'll be yours for the night." "You'll be mine for the night. I like the sound of that. Please, I don't want to puncture my pride. That has never happened." "I've made my deal, take it or leave it."" Alright, I'm going to do this," he bent on his knees and held her hand." Please, five minutes. That's all I ask for. Please?" She smiled and helped him up. "So, you would really beg just to speak with me. That's good to know. Anything you have to say must be PG13. Deal?" "Somehow it is. But the discussion can't be in this place. Is it soundproof? If my dad finds out that I told you, he would kill me. Can you keep a secret?" "Whoa, cool down. If you are so sure that you aren't safe here, follow me. But first, any other important questions?" "Who is Nathaniel Roberts to you?" Dorothy stopped in her tracks. Her heartbeat quickened and her eyes turned light purple. "Just an old friend." "Just an old friend?! Are you aware that your eyes just turned purple?! You're lying. If you are going to be safe, you need to co operate with me. Tell me the truth, please." "This is the first time that my eyes are changing colour to purple. Well, I'll tell you the truth. Nathaniel Roberts was my second ex. He was there for me when Justin broke my heart. I figured I also somehow liked him and we became a thing. We were all right till people started talking about how he was just using me and I needed to avoid him. I looked into the case and found out that it was true. He had another girl namely Bella, who refuses to let me be. He figured I could only be ignorant for so long. He was rather greedy and didn't want me to leave so he came up with the IDB plan. Intimidate, Depress and when he had me in his clutches, he'd beat me up. I was forced to stay in a relationship that I didn't want but if I was asked, I had to say that everything was perfect. He kept telling me how no other person would ever accept me the way I actually am. He said I should consider myself lucky that anyone even wants me. After all, if I was enough for anyone, why would they cheat? I felt he was right because I had lost my stamina when I left Justin. Until my mom rescued me from myself. I became the guttiest thing he had ever seen. I walked out the door and never came back. He came by asking me to come back, saying that nobody would want me and anybody who would was an idiot. I had become too brave for him and he left vowing for revenge. He has tried to kill me several times but he couldn't. I was too good at escaping. I don't want him in my life anymore but he doesn't want to hear it. What I do not understand is why the attacks stopped? Last I remember, today, he was talking to someone called JJ on how to kidnap that AD girl. And he used to call me AD, or Thealove. He did that to get under my skin. He failed, as usual." Dorothy stopped. She opened the barn door and went into the stable. Wilbur and Humphrey woke up. They gave a low snort. She laughed and replied "Don't! I'll take the both of you. How have you been?" Then a totally weird conversation started between girl and horse began. Jason could only imagine what they were talking about. He interrupted with a cough. "No, he is not my boyfriend. He's just a friend. Wilbur, we need to go to Tuckaway hollow. Can he ride you? Thanks. I'll ride Humphrey because of his leg. When I'm sure it's okay, I'll ride you. Have I been forgiven?" A low grunt told her that her plea was accepted. She carefully mounted Humphrey and edged Jason to mount Wilbur. "I can't ride. Do you think you can teach me? I'm a fast learner." Dorothy couldn't believe it. "You can't ride. I'll teach you how to ride but I have a catch. You'll teach me to swim. Accepted?" "You can't swim! This is serious. Fine, I'll teach you to swim. Well, we'll start tomorrow. You can start now because the horses are here. There's no pool here so tomorrow, I'll take you to a place where I train. " "Won't be necessary. I'll show you when we get there." She helped him up and turned towards the exit. She did a series of movements and he followed exactly what she did. He fell twice and the 3rd time, he got used to it. "What do you know? You're actually a fast learner. Tomorrow, I teach you my moves. But now, let's get you to Tuckaway hollow. I need to learn to swim. I have a pool but can't swim. And, if I am correct, you have something to tell me." Jason nodded dumbly. He jumped on the horse and carefully nudged it. Wilbur obeyed and started a slow trot which increased to a speedy gallop. They went at thirty four miles per hour. Wilbur suddenly stopped at an Oak tree. Dorothy came down and held the tree. She bent a branch and a trap door opened. She jumped in and nudged him. He followed suit and found himself in a classy room. It had a few girlie decorations and Thea written on every wall. She designed the place all by herself. "It's, I'm impressed. It is beautiful." Jason couldn't stop admiring it. "I did this when I was six. Though I showed people the pics and they said it was wonderful, I felt it was boring. Do you want to see the best part? Follow me." She opened a door on the left and he saw a girlie room. It had a pool, a dinner table, a big TV, a library, a water bed, a computer, an X-box, a refrigerator, a walk-in closet and a climbing frame. She pressed a button on the wall and music started playing. It was 'Dance with me'. Jason started with surprise."No way. Do you tango?" "Yes. Do you?" "You're about to find out." He held Dorothy's hand in one of his and with the other, he held her waist. The tango began. The series of movements flowed in perfect harmony with the music. By the time the music ended, Dorothy saw herself kissing Jason. But for the first time since their romance story began, she didn't pull back. He pulled back to catch breath. "Well, I didn't enjoy that and we shouldn't do that again." Her eyes turned wine purple. "Dot, that was a black lie. Your eyes are purple. Deep purple. Really, did you enjoy yourself? I'm asking you to tell me the truth. I'm begging you to tell me the truth." Dorothy realized that she had a natural lie detector. "Yes, yes I did. You know, I couldn't have enjoyed it more than you seemed to have. What is the colour of my eyes?" Truly, her eyes were sky blue." Sky blue. Now try this." He held her waist and pulled her towards himself. "Your eyes are lavender. That, I think, is romance. Now let's try something else." He pushed her and started ranting on about how she needed protection. She slapped him but he blocked it. Her eyes turned magenta. "Angry-much. Magenta." He started talking about how it was her fault that they were in this situation. Her eyes became amethyst. "Guilt and sadness, amethyst." He started talking about her love life and the stress was written all over her face. "Wow, stress, plum. And happiness, sapphire. I guess that's all there is to the eyes." "She snapped out of the friendly conversation and back into reality. "You had some very important information to tell me, right? Go ahead. I'm all ears and all yours." She sat on the water bed and motioned for him to sit down. He sat down and said he needed something to drink. She leaned backwards, opened the fridge and brought out a chocolate milk and poured out some into the glass. "Here, take this." Dorothy gave him the glass and poured strawberry flavoured milk into her glass. "Who told you? That chocolate is my favourite flavour. " Dorothy chuckled and shook her head. "Maybe, telepathy." Her eyes turned eggplant purple. "You're being sarcastic, aren't you?" Dorothy smiled. "Yup. How did you know?" "Your eyes told me. Eggplant. I want to see your jealous side." Dorothy wouldn't do it. She needed to change the subject. "You have something important to tell me, don't you? Out with it!" Jason knew that she was trying to change the subject. "I asked a question. Answer it. If you can." "I can't. The Jaguar never gets jealous. Not now, not ever." "The Jaguar. What's that?" "A nickname from an old friend. I'm the Jaguar. She's the wildcat. Her sister is the Puma and he was the panther. He left and she became the Panther. We formed the 'Cat club.' Till I left." Her eyes became amethyst. Jason needed to swing her back into her happy mood. "Hey, Dot, I loved the tango. Maybe we should do it some other time. Now where's the pool? Let's start the lessons. Go change. I'll be waiting." He watched as the frown disappeared from her face and it was replaced with a goofy smile. She stood up and gave Jason a peck. She walked in the walk-in closet and shut the door. 'I guess I will let her impress me, what she can do? Just, it's too romantic to tell her this delicate information. I'll tell her as we are swimming and hopefully she won't chop off my head. Ah, here comes my queen.' Dorothy came out in a red croptop -like swim shirt. The swim tights she had were pink and she wore purple goggles. The shirt read 'All hail the goddess. Long live the queen.' "Alright, now you change. I think I have something suitable for you on the counter. Its colour is black with a touch of blue. Which, if I am correct, is you favourite colour. It's unisex so I think it's okay." He gave her a wink and disappeared into the dresser. Meanwhile, Dorothy had thoughts of her own flying through her head. 'I mean, how long do I think I can resist this. He is cute and rather flawless. What are you doing? Snap out of this. I have a boyfriend. He is probably the last. He is caring, loving and sweet. He is everything I could ever wish for. I dont want to break his heart. So get this guy out of your head.' Moments later, Jason came out with the swimsuit on. "You're right. It's my favourite colour. It's very comfy and flexible. Though I made a little adjustments." He walked past her and she looked at the back of the swimsuit. It read:

*Captain Crazy Jace 21*

Dorothy smiled. He had plans on keeping it. He made a dive into the pool and his head bobbed up almost immediately. The temperature of the water was perfect and it was just as deep in the shallow area. He swam further and tested the level of the floor base. Really deep. Perfect. He turned back and saw her sitting on the tiles on the edge of the pool. He stayed underwater for about five minutes. Dorothy's eyes surveyed the pool. She couldn't see him. He swam to her feet and pulled her into the water. Dorothy shook her head. "You seem to always have something in your sleeves. I'm good at only one stroke. The front crawl. Shall we begin?" Before she could even turn around to face him, he carried her on his back and went the whole perimeter of the pool. When she felt he was tired, she jumped off and swam beside him, keeping close to the edge so she won't drown. He taught her the butterfly stroke, back stroke,breast stroke and diving. She learned freestyle when he was leaving the pool and slipped. She went as fast as her feet could move. She pushed him up and carried him down to the bed. She lay him down and wrapped in her hands over his freezing body. She cranked up the heat to warm up the place. He woke up by about 20mins later. He kissed her hand and smiled at her. "I'm okay. Don't worry. I saw the stroke. Good job, old girl. Now, I think I would be able to tell you that very important information. I know I have your trust."