Just a random story I came up with. JennaxBeetle all the way! Just a note, the flashback runs back into the present time without an 'End Flashback' or whatever. Just so you know.

I don't own Septimus Heap or the characters. (Doi) That privilege goes to the wonderful Angie Sage!

Let the Magyk begin! (Ooh, I'm cheesy)

Idiot, idiot, idiot…

These were the thoughts currently running through O. Beetle Beetle's head. He sat on the cobbled pavement of one of the alleys coming off of Wizard Way, hunched over with his head in his hands.

I can't believe I actually told her. She probably won't ever speak to me again. Why would she? Oh, idiot! I'm such an idiot!

Beetle was upset. He felt like it was the end of the world as he knew it. It was the end of his life. He had a good mind to leave the Castle and go to the Badlands, find a cave, and live out the rest of his days eating insects and banging his head against a wall. Beetle the Hermit. He could see it now, legends surrounding the mad old man who had confined himself to a cave, all because of those three little words.

I love you.

Yes, he was an idiot. Of course he should have kept it to himself, as he had been for the past couple of years. He should have known that if he told her, she would have run a mile.

Oh yes, O. Beetle Beetle was feeling very idiotic, because he'd told Princess Jenna that he loved her.

Flashback…

Earlier that day

Beetle was smiling to himself, walking down Wizard Way. In front of him, the lapis lazuli arch loomed above, glinting in the sunlight. He reached the arch just as he swallowed his last bite of sausage sandwich. He was thankful that Foxy took the time to make him a sandwich daily, as the kitchen at Larry's Dead Languages wasn't the sort of place you'd want to eat from.

Beetle had forty-seven minutes left of his lunch hour, according to his time piece. He sat down on the cool grass by the arch and looked up at it, appreciating the beautiful colours and flashes of gold that danced across the smooth, blue surface. The light from the sun made the arch glow.

Only a few minutes later, a shadow fell across Beetle. Jenna was suddenly in front of him, saying his name and smiling.

"Beetle!"

"Hey Jenna." Beetle couldn't help but grin at the sight of her. She had grown to be an exceedingly beautiful girl – and in Beetle's eyes she couldn't be more perfect. She would be a brilliant Queen when she was older, he knew it.

"You mind if I join you?"

"Not at all!"

Jenna sat down on the grass next to him, admiring the lapis lazuli arch just as he had been doing seconds before. "Amazing, isn't it? I wonder where they found a piece of lapis big enough."

Beetle wished he could have come up with a witty answer and make her laugh, but his mind was somewhere else, caught up in his impossible hopes and dreams, all involving the girl sitting next to him.

"So, how's work with Larry?" Jenna asked, turning her violet eyes to him.

"Good. Well, alright. Not too bad, anyway. Not great, though. I still miss the Manuscriptorium, of course, but what can you do?" Beetle rambled but fell silent when he heard Jenna's laughter – as light and musical as tinkling bells.

A few minutes later, Septimus came down the path and joined them. He seemed, for once, quite flustered as he sat down on Jenna's other side.

They soon fell into easy conversation. Jenna told them about the 'Princess Lessons' she had to attend, and the dance lessons she had to start today. ("My tutor's feet shall be purple with bruises within a week!" Jenna had laughed.)

Meanwhile, Beetle told them about new ways in which Larry was getting money from his unsuspecting customers through a glued together bowl and a wonky floorboard. ("Even when they do insist they didn't break it, they always give in to him eventually," Beetle had sighed.)

Septimus, meanwhile, talked about the new spell Marcia was teaching him; transfiguration. ("It's tricky stuff," he'd said. "I still can't get it right.")

After a while, Beetle took out his time piece and looked at it. He, Septimus and Jenna had been talking for almost half an hour. He had just under twenty minutes left of his lunch hour. They had fallen silent again, enjoying the peace and quiet and each other's company.

Coming down the Way were a group of girls. As many girls seemed to do, they travelled in a pack and giggled whenever they passed a boy. They were very aware of the two boys behind them, talking quietly.

"Just tell her, Neil," the dark-haired boy told his blond companion. His eyes were glinting green in the light.

"What, and have her laugh in my face? I don't think so, Fin," Neil said, shaking his head.

"What? You scared?" George teased.

"No!"

"Okay, how about I do a confidence spell? Then you'll have the confidence to tell Nicola exactly how you feel!"

"No way, George. Remember last time you used magic? You turned my mum's favourite pot into a great ugly spider! And she's terrified of spiders!"

"That was a mistake! Come on, I can do this one! I did it on my brother just yesterday!"

Neil looked very doubtful but he sighed and relented. "Fine…just do it, then."

"Okay, stand still," George instructed. Neil stopped walking and turned to face George. George said a few words to himself quietly and stretched out his hands. Red sparks gathered around his fingertips.

Just then, one of the girls from the group in front called out to them. Both boys looked up. The red sparks shot out of George's hands, whizzed past Neil's ear, and hit Beetle in the chest. He grunted and fell backwards. George and Neil didn't notice and moved on.

Jenna hadn't noticed either. She was staring into the distance, a far away look on her face. Septimus, on the other hand, had, and leant backwards to see if he was alright. Beetle wasn't sure what had hit him, but it felt good. All of a sudden, there was nothing he couldn't do. His shyness evaporated, he sat up and looked at Jenna.

"Princess. I have something to tell you. Ever since I first met you, a few years ago, I've had, well, a bit of a crush on you. At first I thought it would go, but as I got to know you better and better, my feelings for you only grew and became stronger. You're on my mind all the time. I can't think of anything else. Even at night, my dreams are filled by you. The thought of you makes my knees feel weak. My heart flutters and my head feels lighter than the clouds. You are amazing, fun, clever, and breathtakingly beautiful. Princess Jenna, I love you."

Suddenly, Jenna was standing up, a look of horror on her face. She turned and fled, running as fast as she could away from Beetle. She yelled something over her shoulder, but he didn't hear. The confidence induced by the miss-aimed spell vanished. Beetle felt weak. He flopped down and stared at the sky, breathing deeply. What had he done? He'd just confessed to Jenna. Why had he done that?

Septimus watched Jenna go, surprised. He hadn't expected that. Then again, neither did he expect Beetle to suddenly sit up and come out with that speech. When he looked over at his friend, he saw him already getting to his feet and leaving.

Beetle didn't want to stay a second longer. Depressed, he silently stood up and walked back down Wizard Way to Larry's shop. Larry noticed Beetle's down-hearted behaviour and didn't ask why he was back fifteen minutes early from his lunch hour. He just set him straight back to work. Beetle was in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

Hours later, the sun had set, but Beetle didn't notice.

Idiot, idiot, idiot…

He sat with his back pressed against a brick wall, hunched over with his head in his hands. He was still lamenting about how idiotic he was. Why? Why had he done it? Things couldn't get any worse.

And then it started to rain.

Beetle was drenched within seconds. He ran a hand through his dripping hair and was considering banishing himself to the Badlands when he heard footsteps splashing down Wizard Way. Beetle took no notice, but then he heard his name being called.

"Beetle? Beetle!"

Ah, great, he thought. His depression was causing hallucinations now, as well. He looked up and, sure enough, his mind was making him see Jenna running down the street toward him, her red cloak billowing out behind her.

"Beetle! Beetle!"

Beetle moaned and put his head between his knees, hoping to drown out the sound of Jenna calling his name. Then he felt two hands on his shoulders.

"Beetle? Are you okay? What are you doing?"

Beetle looked up at her, staring. Then he sneezed. Jenna looked worried.

"Oh, you've caught a cold! How long have you been out here?"

"What? But…" Beetle trailed off, very confused. What was going on? Jenna grabbed his arm and tugged him to his feet. She was as wet as he was, and her face was stained red from the cold.

"Come on, mum's got an amazing recipe for vegetable soup. It's really good for colds!" Jenna began running back down the street with a sluggish Beetle.

Beetle allowed himself to be carted off by the Princess. He said nothing, and kept his head bowed and tried not to trip up over anything. He found himself sneezing quite a lot, and immensely wished he had chosen somewhere else to sulk. When they reached the Palace, Jenna had to drag him through the doorway, as he was quite reluctant to go inside with his muddy boots.

Jenna took him to a small sitting room and sat him down on an armchair. She hastily threw a blanket around his shoulders before getting to work lighting the grate. Beetle pulled the blanket around his shivering form unsurely.

Soon there was a roaring fire in the grate and Beetle was feeling much warmer. Jenna was trying to get him to take off his wet clothes – his jacket, at least – when he said, "I don't get it. Why are you doing all of this?"

Jenna, to his surprise, flushed slightly. "I don't want you to get ill," she said. "I wanted to make sure you were alright." She took a breath before continuing. "I was using a telescope Septimus had enchanted for one of his exams. I saw you through it and you looked really upset so I went out to find you. I got a bit lost, though, and I didn't know exactly where you were."

"But earlier today," Beetle started.

"I know, I'm sorry I ran off like that. It's just Jillie Djinn wanted to talk to me and I was ten minutes late. And you know what she's like about time."

"Oh." Beetle wasn't sure if this was true or just an excuse, but he decided not to question it.

"What is it you were saying when I left? My mind was somewhere else and I didn't catch any of it." Jenna said.

Beetle stared at her, his mouth hanging open. She hadn't heard his confession? "You don't know what I said?" he asked. He was so happy he could dance. He decided against this, however.

"I'm sorry. Was it important?"

"Nope! In fact, I can't even remember what it was I said."

"Okay." Jenna smiled. "I'll go tell mum you're here. I'll be back in a bit" She was half way out of the door when she stopped. "By the way, what were you doing outside when I found you?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking."

Jenna nodded and left the room.

When she returned, she had with her not only a tray, but also the Seventh Son of the Seventh Son.

"I can't believe you did that Jenna!" Septimus said. "He was completely heart broken. He bore his soul to you and all you could do was run off without a single word? Oh, hey Beetle." Septimus paused, doubling back and gaping at Beetle. "Beetle? What are you doing here?"

Beetle replied with a sneeze. Jenna rushed over to him and gave him one of the bowls of soup before looking at Septimus. "Sep. What are you going on about?"

"But…Beetle…" Septimus looked between Beetle and Jenna, clearly confused.

"Beetle's got a cold and I'm looking after him," Jenna told him.

"Oh…so the whole…um, thing's been resolved, then?"

"What thing?" Jenna asked.

Septimus didn't notice Beetle shaking his head rapidly. "The thing today! When Beetle poured his heart out about how he loved you and you just ran off!"

"Wait, what?"

Septimus froze, his eyes widening as a look of realisation dawned on his face. "Anyway, I've got to go before Marcia murders me," he said, suddenly becoming conscious of the mistake he had made, and quickly ran off.

Jenna watched Septimus go before slowly turning her head to stare at Beetle, who was suddenly very interested in his boots. "Beetle?"

Beetle swallowed. "Um, yeah?"

"What Septimus said…That was true? Was that what you were saying before? When I wasn't listening?"

Beetle gave a small nod, his face burning. Jenna sat down opposite him. She felt as if she were going to faint.

"Oh Beetle, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. And I just…oh, no wonder Sep was so annoyed with me." She got up and walked forward, and knelt on the ground by Beetle's chair. "You…love me?"

Beetle closed his eyes and didn't dare look at her. He just nodded weakly. There was a moment of silence, and the next thing Beetle knew, two warm lips were being pressed against his. His eyes snapped open for just a second before he closed them again and began kissing Jenna back.

Perhaps he wasn't such an idiot, after all.

HUZZAH! Septimus Heap story! They're very rare, you know. No one ever seems to write them…sad, really. Still, I think they're awesome.

Anyway, just saying, I have not read Darke. I skimmed over some of the beginning with the 'Browse inside' thing you can get on the internet, so I knew from that that Beetle got a job at Larry's and the Larry's ploy at using a much-broken vase and a well-oiled door to get money. So yeah…this would be set afterwards, of course, but if some facts in this contradict Darke, don't kill me! I didn't know!

Review please!