~*Chapter Nine*~
"And then, the door slammed shut behind her. I dunno, Brian. I think something’s up with her," AJ confided in Brian, who listened with a concerned look on his face.
"AJ, maybe it was just a coincidence that the door slammed shut then, and that the lights blew. I honestly don’t think that she’s some kind of super freak or something. And I also think that you’re reading too much into this. If there was something she wanted to tell you, she’d do it. She’s your best friend. You know that," he reassured AJ.
"You’re right. But I can’t wait around for her. I gotta go find her. Ok if I bail on ya?"
"No prob. Have fun, man."
AJ knocked on Leesa’s door. There was no reply, so he reached for the door handle. To his surprise, the door swung open. AJ called out cautiously.
"Leesa?" Still no reply. This puzzled him. He knew that she had great fears of being mugged, and he decided to investigate. She never would have normally left the door open if she wasn’t there.
AJ walked quietly to her room. The door was closed. He called out again as he opened the door.
"Leesa?" he called as the door opened before him. He looked down to see Leesa on the floor, surrounded by a circle of candles. There was a strange smell in the air, and AJ began to cough. Leesa looked up, startled.
"AJ! What are you doing in here?" she cried.
"I was looking for you… what is all this?" he asked quietly, taking it all in.
Leesa smiled. "Well, I was gonna tell you, and I guess now is as good time as any. AJ, I think you’re gonna have to sit down."
She guided him over to her bed, and sat him down. He looked up at her, bewildered.
"AJ… I’m gonna come out straight with this. I’m a Witch. I have been for a while now. And if we are as good friends as I think we are, this should have no effect on our friendship…" she trailed off as she looked down at AJ, who was staring at her, amazed.
"You never thought to share this with me?" was all he could say.
"It never came up! Why should it matter anyways? It’s just religion! I never held your beliefs against you!"
"But a Witch? That’s different? They… they worship the devil!"
"The Devil is a Christian creation, Xander. Look, just because you have demented ideas of Witches being old hags with warts on their noses flying around on broomsticks, doesn’t mean that I fit into that category. I’m still me. I just believe in a different ‘God’ than you do!" she cried, her voice getting louder with every word. This is exactly how she hoped it wouldn’t go.
"I’m sorry, Leesa. This is just something I’ve never had to deal with before. It’s kinda overwhelming," he told her quietly, his mind still racing.
Leesa smiled, her anger rushing away.
"I’m sorry to drop it on you like that. But I still don’t see what the big deal is. I don’t run around in black velvet, hissing over bubbling cauldrons. I’m still me. And I hope that you don’t hold this against me, because it’s stupid if you do. Religion has never come between us before, it shouldn’t now," she answered, reaching down for his hand.
He looked up at her gratefully. "I know, Buff. It was so unexpected. But everything makes sense now. And I promise not to let it interfere with us, kay. Just, don’t go telling Howie. God only knows how he’ll react," AJ said.
"Tell me what?" Howie asked, entering the room.
‘Shit!’ Leesa thought. Then she stood up from the bed and looked straight at Howie.
"OK. Here we go. Howie… on second thoughts, you might want to sit down with AJ," Leesa told him.
He sat down cautiously, and listened attentively to Leesa as she began to talk.
"Howie, before I tell you this, let me just assure you that I don’t think this is very important. But judging by the way AJ reacted, it probably will be important to you. I just hope that this doesn’t change anything between us, ok?"
"Ok…" he said tentatively.
"Howie, I’m a Witch. I’m coming out of the broom closet. And before you say anything, I have no warts on my nose, I do not worship the devil, I don’t believe in black Magick, and I don’t fly around on broomsticks stealing babies. That is all I have to say, so now it’s your turn to tell me what you think," Leesa finished off, looking at Howie.
His face turned red. "How could you not tell me this? Why.. when… WHY?"
"If you’re gonna make this into a big deal, well then maybe you should leave. It’s not a big deal. It’s simply something that I believe in. I respect your belief in God, you should respect my beliefs. To answer your questions, I’ve been a Witch my whole life, cos my mom is a Witch, I’ve been a practising Witch for almost three years and I am a Witch simply because it answers my questions. It makes sense to me, just like Christianity makes sense to you," she explained patiently.
He got up from the bed. AJ looked at him concerned. "Where are you going?"
"Not going yet, just a dramatic gesture. I… I don’t know what to say. I don’t think that… shit, I don’t know what to say… I said that already. I know I need some space from you. I can’t handle this at the moment. I’m sorry, but it’s what I need," he said, walking away from Leesa as she reached out to touch him. He jerked his hand back from hers as if it burned him. AJ just looked at him incredulously.
"I’m going. I’ll see you later," was all Howie said as he walked out of the door, an amazed look on his face.
As the door closed behind him, Leesa’s face crumpled, and she dissolved into tears. AJ walked over to her, and wrapped his arms around her.
She looked up at him sadly. "Why did he act like that? What’s the big deal?"
"Leesa, your being a Witch is not an easy thing to understand. I mean, I know you are still you, but you have to think of all the stereotypes about Witches. It’s just hard to understand. I think that you need to give him this space, even if it’s something that you don’t understand, kay?" he explained quietly, pulling her close to his chest.
She snuggled up against him, saying, "Just hold me, ok? I need you to hold me."
"That I can do," he answered, resting his chin on the top of her head as they rocked slowly. AJ’s heart almost broke as he thought of the pain she was going through, but the only way he could make it better was to hold her. Just hold her.
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