Cal experienced a little bit a bullying that day. Pupils of the school always got excited with any type of gossip, be it exciting or just plain stupid. But Cal had to tell Jones. The only person he could trust with the secret. The ultimate secret.
Keep the love, Callum
Whatever that meant. He had... no... idea, at all. Whatsoever. During lunch, he finally spotted Jones for the first time in the day and rushed over to him.
"Jones! I finally found -"
"Whoa, bro... what hap -"
"I know. It's more serious than you think, though, Jones. It's far more serious than that."
Jones looked at Cal cryptically. "Dude, I seriously can't take you seriously when you sound like that."
The two friends laughed. One laugh much more manly than the other.
"I need to talk to you though, bro. In private. Like... right now would be good."
Jones followed Cal to the library, where no one went at lunch time.
"This better be good." said Jones.
"Ugh, trust me. It will be."
Cal explained everything to Jones, everything about the ice, how he caught it. How, when he went to bed, he woke up and his room was destroyed. How when he went to show his mother everything was back to normal. How he received the letter. How he had to 'keep the love'. How he wished for a new voice.
Jones was on the verge of not believing it. But Cal wouldn't make up something like that for a joke. Never in his life. Especially when it came to things that were so personal.
"That's probably better than any story I've ever read, bro. But... it's not a story, is it? It's the truth. I believe you, man."
"Jeez, Jones. Thanks. Just... I don't know what it means by 'keeping the love'," Cal lied. In reality, he knew exactly what it meant, and Jones could see it in Cal's eyes.
"Cal, man. Yes you do. You seriously do."
[|=|]
Cal couldn't let the love between he and his mother melt away like candle wax. Nothing he could change was allowed to break away the fragile strings of fishing wire that strung his mother to him.
Cal had to be as careful as possible with his power. He had to keep the love.