And what exactly would I be jealous of?

That question had haunted Olive for hours and hours, making it impossible for her to have some rest.

She touched a candle near her bed with her bare hand, bringing some light to her bedroom. The red-haired girl wasn't impressed with Enoch's harsh words on dinner, as he probably wouldn't say anything different, but it still brought chaos to her mind. Olive tried convincing herself it was probably just Enoch's bad mood – that he was in since Jake showed up – that made him question that, yet there was another side that told her something completely different. What if he didn't care at all?

The pyromancer sat on the edge of her bed, gloved hands on her lap, the candle being the only source of light in the room. Enoch's room was just next door – she would always have breakfast and go there first thing in the morning. She liked helping him build his 'dolls', later being rewarded with battles and one or two words from the boy. It brought her excitement, happiness. In fact, Olive felt very happy about helping her moody friend, but started to question if he wanted her there.

It was like routine; the other kids didn't find it unusual to see the red headed girl and Enoch in his room. Maybe that was the source of the suspicion – that could be why everyone thought he was jealous and possessive (which, to a certain degree, he was).

Olive brought the candle close to her face, feeling its warmth. She put it on the nightstand and stood up quietly, to not bring Miss Peregrine's suspicion. Even if the headmistress was asleep, it was still dangerous. At least she wasn't Emma – she couldn't imagine walking around with lead shoes.

Enoch's behavior had always fascinated the pyromancer in a way. She was just an assistant, someone to give him the tools he needed, to help him carry his endless jars of hearts, a simple helper. He acted like her presence wouldn't make a difference most of the time, but she could see him glaring at Jake like if he was the worst person alive. Not only that, but his attempts to make the boy leave, his heavy sighs every time it was announced the 'ordinary boy' would stay a little longer. What about the first time Enoch saw Jake? Olive had to rush to catch up with the angry peculiar, and he would barely say a word to her after that.

Is he jealous?

The pyromancer blew on the candle, her bedroom covered in darkness once again.

The red-haired girl walked carefully to her door, leaving the room slowly so there'd be no sound. She knew Enoch wouldn't be asleep – he never was. With light steps, she stopped at his door. There was a dim ray of light under the door, giving Olive proof her friend was awake. She knocked on the door, trying not to be loud.

"Enoch?" she called almost in a whisper, her voice barely audible in the hallway.

She heard a grumpy 'hmm' from the other side, and she put a gloved hand on the doorknob to open it. However, Enoch was faster, opening the door quickly.

"Forgot how to sleep?"

His rude greeting didn't impress her at all. Instead, she put her hands beside her body, trying to sound calm yet firm.

"May I come in?"

The boy didn't answer, opening the door completely and walking out of her way to let Olive in. The fact he didn't say 'no' or ask what it was about surprised her, as she was sure Enoch wouldn't simply let someone in his room, even if it was his 'assistant'.

He sat back on his chair, the table lamp illuminating his project and part of his body. It was yet another creepy-looking doll, with a lot of different body parts being put in it. The girl stood up next to him, as she always did when helping her friend, the difference being that she was there for talking and not for helping.

Silence almost filled the room for some minutes, if it wasn't for the sounds of Enoch's tools working on the small doll slowly. His dedication with his peculiarity fascinated the pyromancer, knowing some of the peculiars in that same home didn't like showing it off.

Then, Enoch simply dropped a tool on his table, annoyed with the girl's silence.

"What is this all about?" he stared at her, even though the table lamp wasn't enough to illuminate Olive.

The moody boy stood up and turned on the lights, definitely upset with her silence, and maybe even with her presence. Why can't her simply light up a candle or something?

"Did you really mean that in dinner?" that was the first thing she asked, watching him sit down again to resume his work.

"If you could be more specific" he spat, frown on his face. "I do understand that telling someone to marry Jake is an insult."

That was another part she was curious about, but hesitated about talking about it or not. In the end, Enoch probably wouldn't say anything worth listening anyway.

"Not that part." Olive tried to sound serious, even though her mind was going crazy with his cold responses. "Enoch, are… Are you jealous?"

She could almost hear him erupt in laughter, if he didn't hold himself back. Or maybe he wasn't going to laugh at all. He glared at her as if she had told him a joke. Then, he sighed, hands working on his project like in an operation, his attention stolen by the doll.

"And what would I be jealous of, Olive?" he replied bitterly, louder than before, but not enough to be heard by someone else other than the pyromancer.

His response brought silence to the room, shutting her up for some instants. She was about to say something risky, hesitating.

"I… I don't know," she answers, trying to sound as firm as possible. "I couldn't help but notice how mad you get whenever Jake does anything. Abe, too. You were like this when he was alive."

Olive recalled the first time Enoch saw Jake, and how angry he had gotten at the other peculiar after he had stolen the red-haired girl's attention.
Her words seemed to sting her friend, as the brown-haired boy's posture stiffened. His hands stopped moving instantly, as if he couldn't proceed, and he sighed once again.

"Where exactly do you want to go with this?"

The pyromancer took a deep breath before releasing a question she definitely didn't want to ask.

"Are… Are you jealous of Jake?"

She was sure he'd just laugh at her and tell her to go to sleep, and yet…

He hesitated, frozen.

"What are you even thinking?" Enoch stared at her, then continued to do his work. "You're my assistant and you stay here all day, what about that?"

Olive was surprised Enoch considered her as an assistant, but was also sad with the fact she was just his assistant. She stared at him, trying to reply without sounding like she actually wanted something else. And, unfortunately, she did.

But he hadn't dropped the bomb yet.

"You could just go and never talk to me again, and I couldn't care less."

The red-haired girl brought her gloved hands to her mouth, trying to contain a gasp.

"Is that so?!" Olive asked, louder than Enoch's bitter remarks.

The boy didn't answer. Was he regretting it? He dropped a tool on the table again, crossing his arms on the table, not saying a word.

The pyromancer stood up, lowering her head so all he could see was red hair, not her teary eyes.

"Well, Enoch," she began, her voice shaky. "Maybe I should just leave you alone for good. I'll go talk to Jake. He's probably awake too, and I bet he'll be nicer to me than you ever were!"

It was a lie, though. Olive definitely wasn't interested in having a conversation with the other peculiar, not in a time like that.

She swore she had seen Enoch discretely breaking a clay arm in half. She closed his door and returned to her room, lying down slowly. Using her gloves to dry her eyes, the red-haired girl couldn't stop thinking about the unpleasant conversation she just had with her friend.

o o o

Silent minutes passed, Olive lying on her bed restless, and she could hear him leaving his room. After all, all that separated their rooms was a wall.
Then, in a sudden, her door opened, and she could see Enoch's silhouette.

"Olive?" he asked in a regular tone, except for the fact he sounded like he was freaking out.

His friend took her glove off, fire dancing on her hand. She could see some of his face, and he looked relieved.

"Oh, there you are."

She didn't respond. The boy sighed, walking to her.

"I…" he began, hesitating, as if he was about to say the worst thing in the world. "I'm sorry, okay?"

Olive stood up, bringing the fire in her hand, walking to her friend. It was very, very rare to see Enoch O'Connor apologizing to anyone. There was a very rare chance of seeing him doing it again.

He sighed, definitely not happy he had to say it, even though the red headed girl never told him to.

"I take all that back. More apologies in the morning." he stared at her, as if he just wanted to get it over with.

"Be more honest, Enoch" Olive finally replied, still wanting to know the truth. She knew he wasn't being sincere.

"I came here because I need some help" he spoke, sighing. "Enoch O'Connor is helpless. Enoch O'Connor is asking someone for help. Wow, how surprising. Laugh at me for the rest of your life."

The pyromancer chuckled a little before exiting her room, her friend following her. She put her gloves on again, entering the boy's room slowly.

o o o

After some time working, his doll was almost done.

"Scissors," Enoch demanded, Olive handing him them quickly.

She watched with enthusiasm as her friend seemed to have put more dedication into that invention than in the other dolls lying around his room. Yet, he was colder than before. He had only asked for tools and ingredients, and nothing else about the incident was said.

"Jar of heart, small" he said again, one hand stretched so Olive could place the ingredient in it. "Did you end up talking to Jake?"

The red-haired girl put a hand on her mouth, trying to hold back a smile, but couldn't.

"Say it again?"

Enoch sighed, looking away.

"You heard it very well."

"Do you want an answer or not, Enoch?" Olive decided to test him.

"Stop joking around and give me the jar."

She laughed softly.

"But I already did, Enoch."

The boy looked at his hand and, in fact, the jar was there. He set it on the table and turned away, not wanting to meet her gaze. With a deep sigh, still not looking at her, he opened the jar and took the heart out carefully.

"…Did you end up talking to Jake?"

Olive laughed a little before responding, making Enoch frown deeply.

"No, Enoch. I didn't."

"Really?" he insisted. "Stop laughing and give me the needle."

The pyromancer leaned close to give him it.

"Really."

"Good." he replied, a serious tone in his voice.

"Why?"

Enoch stood up suddenly, his body so close to Olive's she could feel his heavy breath on her forehead. He put both hands on her shoulders, something definitely unusual of him.

"Don't talk to him." he demanded. "Don't talk to anyone else."

The red-haired girl stepped back in surprise, to no avail, as the boy walked one step closer. Her mouth opened a little, wanting to reply, but nothing would come out.

Then, it was as if Enoch had realized what he was saying. He quickly turned around and sat on his chair, turning away so his face wasn't visible.

"Um… Enoch?"

"Go to sleep. I'm done with this."

Olive could see his face going a little pink, and chuckled a little before walking to the door.

"Stop laughing. I-It's not like I'd care if you went to sleep anyway."

She could say without hesitation that that was her favorite side of Enoch. It seems that he couldn't hold his mask completely. Olive turned the doorknob, opening the door a little.

"Good night, Enoch."

He didn't look at her. She closed the door and walked to her bedroom, pleased with what had happened.

o o o

After Olive left, Enoch decided to just leave everything the way it was and went to sleep. However, thoughts of what had just happened kept on bothering him. He was jealous and possessive, he knew that.

It was his turn to toss and turn on his bed, restless.