The clock was ticking at the same beat of my fingers tapping on the desktop. Tick, tock, Eris. Tip, Tap, Eris. You’re gonna ace this test—hopefully. And right now was one of those times that I knew I was gonna massacre. Easy stuff, we learned the majority of it that month, so, it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Okay,” Nanaya announced. “You all may begin.”

Eris Faye was the first thing I scribbled down. Tao tapped me on my hand and I looked over to see her icy blue eyes all confused. I wrote down the answer to number one; she hit herself on the forehead, mouthing, “Duh.” For a five-page test, it was fairly easy to finish in less than 90 minutes and have on Nanaya’s desk.

After History was over, Tao raced down with me to Body Science so we could ask Sahmi about our next quiz. When we got in, Sahmi was sitting on top of the desk, with a pencil floating in front of his face. His affinity was Gravity, and it was amazing to watch him.
“Sahmi?” Tao blurted.

“My ears are open and my eyes are directed on yours,” Sahmi replied, looking directly into Tao’s eyes and snatching the pencil out of the air.

“U-uh—”

“She wants to know about our upcoming quiz,” I snickered, finishing her beautiful sentence.

Sahmi made a face. “Sa quf pors whi acneme duso?” Translated to English, that meant: “And, what would you like to know about the quiz?”

“What type of questions there are,” Tao answered. “I don’t like multiple choice because it messes me up, and writing is a big no, my nails are mucho too importanto!”

He chuckled at her “accurate” Spanish. “Well, Tao, see me after class, we’ll figure something out.” Sahmi winked at her just before the bell rang.

We darted to our seats then pulled out the assignment Sahmi wanted us to do in our textbooks. Following Body Science, I went to Riate and Brice called me over to his desk… What did I do?!

“Hello,” I said, showing the sign of respect.

“Hello, Eris. Uhm, have you seen Caine Prath lately?” he asked.

“Yeah, just yesterday. Why?”

“Lena needs him. Thank you, Goddess, merry part.”

(I loved how they referred to us as Gods and Goddess.) I ran off to my seat, then Tao walked in with a late pass to Brice. She joined me in the back and put her feet up on the desk.

As class progressed, I had a thought of Aya and did I ever give her that necklace. It was late January, and Tao and I had moved on with crying ourselves to sleep about Aya; we knew better than being little brats about it. Two weeks ago, we spread her ashes in my backyard, so we always knew where she was and how we could be connected to her. That was one thing I was happy about, others, not so much.

My Elements still weren’t working, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as last month. Turns out, the Elements made my reflexes stronger (I have no idea why) and it made me super alert during class. So, that was good. And, Dallas had been so good to me, like always. After Riate, we had lunch (walking tacos) then headed off to Art, and I was super happy because Verc was in a good mood. She had us create an abstract painting of what our affinity was in our own eyes; not what it was meant to be or what other people thought.

So, I splattered red and blue and white and green paint on the canvas, then used my pinky finger to swirl it around. The colors actually looked great, the white made everything a tad lighter. Just to be more creative, I even threw in some teal to describe myself. Verc had been circulating the room, but when she saw me, she stopped.
“Amazing work, Eris,” Verc grinned.

“You like it? I’m rethinking the red now that I added the teal… ” I softly replied, frowning at the bright red paint.

“No! That’s beautiful, and if anything were to change, I’d say to throw you in the paint.”

Verc patted my lower back then went on to do her business, leaving me to observe my work. The bell rang and Tao dragged me off to Math. Affinity Hour came quicker than I expected, so I decided to go and visit Govea.

I crept into the steel door and took in the aroma of the dragons. (They all smelt like vanilla mixed with cinnamon—very pleasing.) Down a few rows, I heard Govea’s deep laughter and a dragon cutely roaring back at him. I called out his name, then Govea peeked his head out from the last row of enclosures.
“Just the person.” He smiled. “Wanna meet the babies?”

“Babies?” I started walking closer and Govea went back to his place. My heart exploded when I saw the two baby dragons in the basket.

The first was a pretty pink, with an orange streak of scales going down her back. The other was a deep blue with a yellow streak of scales down her back; they were adorable.
“Meet Ripley and Riva: our new baby girls,” Govea smiled.

I gasped at Ripley’s cute little sneeze. (Ripley was blue; Riva was pink.) “I want to eat them,” I chuckled.

“Well, don’t. They need more than 17 hours to live, Eris.”

“I’ll save you guys for later.”

Ripley let out another sneeze and her scales poofed out; her sister used her small wing to gently pat her back.
“They’re a bit sick. Mama had a bad cold during birth,” Govea said, observing their tiny bodies.

“It’s an inherited trait, huh?” I smiled at Riva and she made an impressive attempt to do the same.

A good minute into talking with Govea, I heard another voice from behind me. “Well, what do ya know, Eris is in here with Govea.”

I turned around and saw Dallas approaching from a row behind. He gave me a soft kiss then looked at the babies.
“You’re cuter than I expected,” Dallas smiled, waving at them.

Riva sneezed and she shot up into the air—literally. She was flapping her little wings while she tried not to fall and break her face. Govea was a few feet away, so Dallas quickly grabbed her and she let out a baby sigh of relief.
“They are very sick,” Govea muttered, with his hand rubbing his chin in thought. “Say, Dallas, would you mind watching them while I’m gone? I have to make a quick stop in Ohio, but I don’t want them to be overwhelmed alone.”

“Uh, I guess. Harley can’t be around them, can he?” Dallas replied.

“I’m afraid not. Have he and Hannah stay at your Yard, they are far too rough to be around newborns.”

Dallas nodded and Govea thanked him again. Huh, Dallas with babies?! This. Will. Be. Hilarious. I picked up Ripley then waved to Govea. “I’ll make sure Dallas doesn’t kill them.”

“Me?! Please, I’m amazing with animals,” he scoffed.

“Says the one who kills them for a hobby,” Govea muttered under his breath. I laughed but Dallas made a boyish grunt as Govea shooed us off and we headed to the apartments.

As we walked, Riva kept trying to fly up, and Dallas had to hold her tight, but she sneezed every two seconds, so his grip was pretty pointless. He opened the door to his place, and we set the sisters free.

I plopped down on the couch, Dallas came over and laid across my lap.
“How was your day?” he asked as he cut the TV on.

“Fine.” I ran my fingers through his light hair. “How was yours?”

“You could say… terrible.”

“Why?”

Dallas’ violet eyes lifted to mine. “Because I say so. And, I got bit by Harley and Hannah. They just don’t like me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Would it make you feel better if I cooked for you?” I waggled my eyebrows down at him.

“Hmm, what will you make me?”

“I’m not telling you. Shut up and sit down.”

“Eris, that’s not very nice. You should apologize.” Dallas made his puppy-dog eyes.

“Dallas,” I mocked, “that’s not very nice. I think you should apologize.” I stuck my tongue out before running back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, I was still in the kitchen, listening to music and making this sandwich for him. Something was moving behind me… I whipped my head around and saw Dallas hop onto the counter then smile. I yanked my headphones out and laughed. “What the shit?! Go back in there.”

“Unless you want to be burned, turn around and make me a sandwich,” Dallas said, being his traditional smartass.

I stuck my hand in the drawer then pulled out something. “I know you didn’t just tell me to make you a sandwich,” I growled as I pointed the blade at him.

Dallas shrugged. “Okay, make me a grilled cheese sandwich.”

I dropped the knife back into the drawer then finished the sandwich. Cutting off the stove, I passed Dallas the plate and he took a gigantic bite.
His eyes got wide. “Awh, bitchin! There’s pepperoni!”

“Really?! I didn’t know.” I made a fake gasp but Dallas just nodded.

“Pepperoni.” He took another bite and rolled his eyes to the back of his head while he moaned.

“Is it that good?” I giggled and mimicked his face.

Dallas nodded. “It’s that good.”

“You’re welcome.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek then ran off to the living room to watch the game.

Dallas finished up in the kitchen, and took his medicine before coming to sit with me. He pulled my legs into his lap and grazed his fingertips over my covered skin—but it still felt like he was trying to tickle me. I wiggled from his grinp and he gave me a death stare.
“Quit moving,” Dallas huffed.

“No, you’re gonna molest me,” I giggled, tucking my knees to my chest.

“Molest you? I mean, I know that you’re into some freaky shit, but molest—”

I hurled a pillow at him and Dallas flopped back on the couch. He quickly threw the pillow back but I covered my head. Dallas yanked my leg again, then laid me on his lap and started tickling me.
“Dallas, stop! I will punch you in the throat!”

He dropped his hands and started laughing. I took advantage and pushed him back on the cushions, straddling his lean hips.
“Hey! That’s not fair,” Dallas chuckled.

“Life isn’t fair. Don’t tickle me unless you wanna wake up dead,” I growled while pinning his arms back.

“Wake up dead? How much sense does that make?”

“I dunno, do you wanna test that theory? Because I will—”

Dallas hit me with another pillow and I flipped back the other way. Damn, I never knew a pillow hurt that much! He had his turn on top then kissed my neck, but I pushed him onto his back then sat up straight. Dallas got up, then wrapped his arm around my upper back, pulling me closer to his warm body. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the smell of his yummy cologne; Dallas always smelt so fucking good. He must’ve noticed my sniffing because he pushed the side of my face.
“Hey!” I blew a strand of hair out of my face before sticking my tongue out at him.

“Don’t sniff people, you’re not a dog,” Dallas said.

I started to kiss on his neck, and Dallas sighed (I had my ways). He put his hands on my midriff, then slid his hand down to cup my ass while I grinded my hips down onto his.
“Hey,” Dallas laughed. “Don’t start something.”

I swung my legs the other way then straddled him backwards. Dallas put his face in the crook of my neck and started to lightly kiss me, with his tongue trailing up the side of my neck and to my ear. He was in love with my ears (not in the creepy way) because he loved to play with my earrings and piercings. On the left, I had an industrial piercing, a double hoop helix with tiny blue barbells, and two studs in the lobe. On the right, I had four tiny hoops in the lobe, another single helix, and a forward helix. He loved to tug and lick on them, and it made me crazy.
“Mmm,” I smiled. Dallas moved to my lobe and nibbled the pink ball I had in.

“You taste good,” he whispered. Damn, his warm breath made me moan.

“Well, I do like to taste good,” I giggled.

“Of course you love to taste good. Because I’m the only one who gets to ever taste you.”

I twisted my neck and glared at him. “Oh, really?”

“Yes really, Eris.” He gave me a small peck. I went in again and pushed Dallas back onto the soft cushions of the couch. He looked directly between my legs, obviously thinking about what was covered by my skin-tight leggings. I poked his stomach.

“Don’t look, I wore clothes for a reason,” I chuckled.

Dallas put his head back. “Meanie,” he pouted. Oh no, not the pout! Dallas made thee cutest pouty face, and thee cutest puppy eyes, and I always felt bad.

“No, Dallas! Please don’t, I’ll feel like shit!” I sighed. I put my face in my hands and Dallas started laughing.

“Alright, alright. Come on, I’ll let you leave this time since you have homework.”

I crawled out of his lap then sat up. Dallas walked me to the front door and leaned against the frame before bending down to kiss me. “I love you, don’t text me later,” he said.

I made a hurt face. “Damn. That was harsh.”

“What? I’m not gonna be up, I’m taking my ass to bed when you go.”

“Dallas, it’s only 6pm.”

“And? I slept terrible last night, so, I need to fix it by playing nocturnal.”

“Playing nocturnal? As in, sleep all day, party all night?” I laughed when he nodded.

“Yep, so, don’t text me.” Dallas wrapped me up in his thick arms. He put his hand on the base of my neck then whispered, “Next time, you won’t be leaving.”

“Oh really? And”—I pushed him away—”you won’t either, I may just tie you to the bed then molest you.”

Dallas down peered at me. “What is up with you and molesting?” he snickered.

I shrugged then hugged him around his neck and blew a kiss. “I love you.”

Behind his leg, Riva and Ripley looked at me like little kids—not really coming out, hiding behind Dallas. I waved to them then walked back to the dorms.

Right when I stepped the through the glass doors, my friends Giovanni and Ophelia stopped me.
“Hey, Eris,” Ophelia smiled. She had this bright pink, black and white hair, with dark eyes with vibrant rings of pink and white surrounding her pupils. Her affinity was Flexibility, and I liked to call her “Pretzel” because htere wasn’t a way she couldn’t turn her body.

She handed me a candle. “This is a gift from me and Gi, we wanted to say thanks for the advice.”

“Oh! Thanks! Everyone knows how I am about candles,” I giggled, observing the lavender candle. Last week, Giovanni was scared her powers were dying out because nothing was working, but I helped her locate her “inner Photography” and bring them back. But the unique thing was: Giovanni was Deaf, and Ophelia was her best friend.

Giovanni’s afifnity for Photography was astounding and she found art in everything she saw. Her dark blue eyes reflected her dark purple hair, and the ink of her Maxi swirled around her arms. She never used her disability as an excuse, and she was probably one of my closest friends!

“Thank you,” Giovanni signed, showing me the sign of respect at the end.

“You’re welcome, I gotta go. But I’m glad you got them back.” I smiled, bowed back then ran off to Tao.

Upstairs, I didn’t expect Tao to be sitting on the ground, with Mumble squawking and making a raucous. I giggled when he pecked her hand and made Tao squeal, “Ow!”

“Good job, Mumble. Keep it up,” I said.

“Ugh, hey. How was it with Dallas?”

I kicked my boots off, set the aromatic candle on the nightstand and leaned against the window.
“It was fine,” I sighed. “Hey, is Maz like, dead or something? He wasn’t in any classes, and he didn’t walk you to any Hours.” Tao rolled her eyes and clenched her fists on her knees.

“He’s being a complete asshole. His Dad took him through the portal, but I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday. And all he does is read my messages like they don’t exist,” she said. It was Thursday, so I knew Tao had to be going crazy.

I scoffed. “Well, at least you know he’s not dead. Alright, I have to change and finish my homework.” I peeled off my bottoms, tossed my shirt into the hamper then scampered along to the bathroom.

It took way longer to finish my homework, but after reading my book and playing with Mikey, I flopped down on the bed. Tao came over to me and sat on my legs, obviously prepared to ask me something.
“Yes?” I said from under my arms.

“You want a slushie? You look really tired, and, slushies work magic,” she smiled. I nodded, and Tao made me a cherry slushie.

I sipped the treat like a toddler, and Tao must’ve been happy because she made herself one–though it was just slush, no flavor. We ended up sleeping in the bed together, with our slushies on my nightstand.
====
Thank God the next day was Friday because I was mentally and physically exhausted. Seriously. On the History test, I got 100, and in Art, Verc displayed my work for an example. Wow, I really sounded like a goody-goody…. ew. After Math, I got texts on my phone from Bull.
Bull: Hey, are you done in class??
Me: Yes, why?
Bull: Come to the library.
Me: Fine.

I had already been heading toward the dorms, so I redirected and went to Ria. 57. When I opened the doors, I could see Bear and Bull talking with their mom, and obviously trying to tell her a joke. Bull saw me, then stood up and waved me over like an idiot with a grin so bright that he looked kind of like a mad man. Chryseis rolled her eyes at him when Bear gently punched her shoulder, and she punched him back even harder. She saw me then grinned.
“Hello, Eris. Merry meet,” Chryseis said.

“Hello. Uhm, what do you two want?” I asked the Twins.

They perked up and rose to their feet. “Oh! We need your help,” Bear deeply said.

“We don’t know how the Dewey Decimal System works… so can you help?” Bull gave me the biggest grin ever.

“I guess….”

“Eris, I suggest you run as far as possible; they’ll start depending on you like they’re lost puppies.” Chryseis gave them an annoyed look then smiled again before leaving.

“Ma!” Bear laughed. “That’s not nice!”

“I love you!” Bull called out.

I laughed when Chryseis turned around and gave them a playful finger.
“ What do you guys need?” I asked.

“Uhm, dragons. Particularly babies… that are sick… and shooting themselves into the air.”

“Ah, Riva and RIpley? They’re so cute! But, you left them alone with Dallas?”

Bear nodded as we crossed over to a bookshelf. “He isn’t that bad of a parent. Dallas turns on the game and they’re mesmerised.”

“Ya mean like you?” I glanced back at them as I handed them a thick book.

Bull carried the first book over to the lounge area, and I passed an even thicker one to Bear. He joined his brother in the red chairs then flipped them open.
“Goddamn!” They started coughing and waving their hands at the tons of dust from the book covers.

“Well, that was probably written in 1700 B.C.,” I sighed, kicking my feet up on the table.

Bear skimmed for a while then gasped, “I’ve found nothing!”
Bull took his turn then said, “Oh wow, there’s nothing useful in here!”

“Well, you’ve only read two pages, so, you should look a bit deeper. Pick a number, divide it by 2 or 4, then read that page.”

The Twins got their numbers then flipped through the books again. Bull found something and said, “It’s because mama had a dragon-flu!”

“And, they have terrible immune systems,” Bear mumbled, flipping through more pages as if he’d never held a book before. “This is so not English,” he chuckled.

Bear and Bull looked for a bit more then handed the books back to me like I was a servant. I looked at them as if they were crazy. “Since when am I your servant? God gave you two working legs, so use them.”

Bear made a groan and got louder while he stomped off to the bookshelf, same with Bull and his cute pout. They came back then looked at me like I was the devil.
“Problem? I’m just trying to keep you two in shape,” I deviously smiled but the Twins rolled their eyes.

“We gotta go and check on Dallas, are you coming?” Bull asked, standing up and running his fingers through his cloudy hair.

Every time I stared at his tresses, I just wondered how he made his clothes match something so bright. I was sure his hair was a brighter white than snow, and when I looked at Bear’s hair, it was darker than a summer night sky.

“Nah, I’m gonna stay here. Hey, Bear, can you go ask Zara for a book on Fire? And Earth? And Water? And Air?”

Bear turned the corner of his lip up into a sneer. “Uhm, do I look like a male stripper? Then don’t ask me to please you.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Caine.” Bull looked at him with bright grey eyes but Bear huffed air out of his nostrils.

“If you get it, I’ll buy you a smoothie,” I quickly bribed.

It took Bear about two seconds to sprint to the front desk and come back with the four books. He had an obsession with smoothies; there wasn’t anything Bear wouldn’t do for a smoothie. He gently passed them to me.
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Call me when you really need a smoothie.”

“Okay! Bye,” Bear said. He and Bull walked out of the library then went back to the apartments for Dallas.

Why did I need these books? Good question. Sometime that following week I wanted to cast a circle and “talk with” my affinity. Over a month without powers made me kinda antsy, so I made it a goal to cast a circle at least once so I didn’t freak-the-fuck-out. The books would just show me how to do it properly; no room for screwing up.

I sat the books on the table, side by side then opened the Air first. One thing from rituals I remembered was: Air, Fire, Water then Earth; call them in that order, dismiss them backwards. Since the Twins and Dallas gave me those candles, I’d been illuminating our dorm with them and concentrating on my homework (and it really worked). Casting a circle was completely different: I had to make sure I had a purified space; complete the circle; do it well; 10000000% of my attention is on the circle; have a purpose. Well, I had those answers and items. To purify the space, I could use the lavender batch Nana and Papa gave me, and weave it to make a scented braid. Completing the circle is easy: I just needed a certain amount of area with my candles in a compass organization. And, the rest was fairly easy to do or find or whatever. Studying the Riate words got very confusing, since I was used to the rituals being written in english. Some of the letters got turned over, some had extra lines, most had squiggly lines and twists, and I had to translate all of it! Well, after a difficult study, I picked up the books and crossed over to the colossal desk.

Zara was in her own little world, reading One for the Money and humming a tune.
“Zara—”

“AH!” Zara’s book flew out of her hand and she was all bug-eyed. She sighed when she realized it was me. “I’m sorry, Eris. Pardon me for startling you.”

That little scream she did made me jump. “It’s alright. And, you have a beautiful screaming voice, it is truly outstanding,” I smiled but Zara gave me a look.

She noticed the books against my chest and nodded. “Ah, casting circles, huh. Have any idea when you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, before this month is over.”

Zara nodded as she typed something into her computer, with her pink nails flying across the keyboard. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she had a cute flower crown on.
“Alright,” Zara grinned. “Feel free to keep them as long as you like, I won’t mind if they’re not returned.”

“Zara, I can’t just do something like that. That’s called stealing,” I was being serious but she laughed.

“Sweetie, it’s not considered stealing if I say you can have them. Heck, I’m the only Professor who’s read all 17,836 of these books, and, I have permission to give them to you. So, study long and hard, and have a great circle.”

She was right: her affinity (Reading, obviously) made her memorize chapters and lines from books, and it made her read twice as fast. So, if she said I could have them, there was no arguing.

I raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Zara wiggled her fingers at me and I exited the large glass doors.

Not only did I just get four gigantic books, but, I can reread and do an even better job on my circle. With my mental notes, I planned to cast the circle tomorrow, in the woods where it’s secluded and peaceful. I would make an addition to the lavender, and mix some dried eucalyptus to give it a yummy smell. The entire purpose of the circle would be to connect with my powers spiritually, more than just physically and emotionally. Oh! I had to use the candles Dallas and the Twins gave me, and I’d add another candle: the one Giovanni gave to me.

I’d use it for Spirit. I read that Spirit was an affinity, and categorized as an Element, so why not? The purple candle would be in the middle, with the other four in a perfect diamond to connect them all.

Seems like my circle was gonna be pretty darn good. While coming up the stairs in the dorms, my phone buzzed with a text from Dallas.
Dallas: what are u doing?
Me: Why?
Dallas: Answer my question, please.
Me: Going to my room. Why?

Dallas was just asking about his sweatshirt—I kinda took it last time I slept over. He wanted it back, but I wanted to keep it because it smelt like him and it was big and warm! Dallas said he’d steal it back, I highly doubted that he’d do it.

When I walked into the dorm room, Tao was coming out of the shower with a bit of cold smoke radiating from her wet body. She whirled around and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I waved and smiled back.

“What’d you do after school? I missed you last Hour,” Tao said as she searched for some clothes.

“Oh, the Twins needed me.”

“Hmm. And, what’s up with the books?” She slipped a shirt over her head and glanced at me.

I dropped the books on my desk then laid down on the bed. “Well, I’m casting a circle soon, so I just needed some review.”

“That’s awesome!” Tao clapped her hands together and gave me the happiest smile ever.

I smiled back as she stepped into a pair of gym shorts.

She sneered at her purse on the desk. “Poop. Well, I have to finish this for Kirsi”—Tao pulled a thin stack of papers out of her bag—”and I don’t feel like it.”

“Tao.” I snatched the papers from her. There were only four pages, so it shouldn’t have been that hard. “Half and half?”

“Honey, no. Thank you, I have to do this by myself, because this is stuff I don’t know. You know it, but I don’t.” Tao gently took the papers back and sashayed to her desk.

She put her iPhone on the speaker and turned on Kenny Chesney—oh God. I sat on my bed, listening to her sing along and do her homework. It was funny to watch Tao multitask, because she was super clumsy. The pen kept rolling off of the desktop, so she had to continuously bend over and pick it up. After the eighth time, Tao froze the writing utensil to the desk and continued working. (Great use of power.)

She closed her books and put her stuff away, saying, “Finished!”

“Good job, Tao Chesney,” I muttered.

“You know it. Hey, so I gotta tell you this story.”

“I’m listening…” I drew my eyes to her.

“So, one time when I was 14, there was this boy”—with Tao, there’s always a boy—”and he was real cute. And, I finally grew the tits to go over and say hi, but, I was just so nervous! I went over, he waved, and I freaked out! I accidentally froze his hand like—” Tao had her hands up, and there was a little spark of energy before the power shot out of the window, and sent a strong wind through the room. Tao got flung back onto her bed, and there was a big crackle of ice over our heads. After the ice stopped falling, I sat up and shook the tiny crystals out of my hair. Tao had not moved yet.

“Tao!” I scrambled out of bed and came over next to her, and she hugged me. “Are you okay?”

Her cold body felt even colder, and I was just scared that I would lose her. “That ain’t supposed to happen,” Tao nervously chuckled into my neck. I held her out at arm’s length then smiled.

I pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. But—” Tao flicked her hand out, with the intention of getting ice to hit the wall, but nothing happened. She tried over and over again until she was hyperventilating and frantically talking over me.

“Eris, Eris, my powers! What happened? Eris! Help, I dunno what—”

“Calm down,” I slowly and loudly said. Tao cradled her head in her hands. “Okay, we need to go and alert Brice, because that’s not normal.”

“Right,” she flatly said. Tao was stunned—in all of 14 years, she’d never lost her powers or anything. She grabbed a hoodie then stepped into her boots; I stepped into my shoes and we quickly went downstairs.

It was past curfew, but that was the least important thing right now. What was important was Tao. Some of the girls were sitting in the living room watching MTV, and one of those girls was Giovanni. I tapped her shoulder and her soft pink eyes locked on mine.
“What’s up?” she signed.

“Giovanni, we have to leave. It’s important, and we’re going to Brice. Just, don’t freak if we’re leaving after curfew,” I replied.

“Is everything okay? You look upset.” Her hands moved quickly, so I knew she wasn’t happy with what we were asking.

“Sorta. We… We’ll explain it later, but we have to go.” Tao and I bowed to her and she smiled back.

Tao and I burst out of the glass doors then hurriedly walked over to Ria. 84. (We knew we’d be in some deep shit if we were sprinting around like Usain Bolt—especially after curfew.) When we passed by the apartments, it was clear that there was a party going on, because chatter was beyond the roof. And a bunch of lights were on on the top floor. Tao grabbed my arm and said, “We might just have to run… I don’t want to take too long.”

“Eh, you’re right,” I nodded then we broke out into sprint.

By time we got there, Tao and I were both breathing a bit hard (we may or may not have run into a crazy gremlin).

We opened the doors and walked down the dark hallway to Brice’s office. From inside, we could hear Brice talking to someone—not to himself, but someone.
“Maybe you should tell that to your aunt, Karder,” he said.

Oh. He was talking to Xi and Karder—his sons. (The two men who escorted me into Rianate, and, they were the ones to take Aya’s body away.) I didn’t even figure that out until Dad told me, but, it made sense: they were a bit older than us (maybe 27-30 years old), they worked for Brice all the time, and they had Brice’s ,. (It just meant that Lena was their aunt.) And no one had seen Lena for a while, she went to Arizona for something. Anyway, Brice finished talking with them, then Xi and Karder passed us in the hall.
“Girls,” Xi asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the dorms? Curfew.”

“We need Brice, it’s far too important to wait,” Tao replied.

“Oh. Merry part,” Karder said, bowing to us. He and his brother quickly left to wherever they stayed—I think in the mansion. Tao took an intense breath, then slowly widened the heavy door…. Brice was standing with his back to us, sipping on wine from a silver goblet.

“Brice…” Tao faintly said.

He quickly turned to us with a raised eyebrow. “It is past curfew. You two shouldn’t—”

“Her powers are gone,” I blurted, inadvertently cutting him off.

His expression darkened. “What? Why has this happened? Show me, please.”

Tao started walking closer then flicked her wrist, but nothing…. nothing came out. She let out a frustrated sigh and plopped down in the leather wingback chair .
“I dunno what happened, Brice. We were in the dorm, and it didn’t work. It was like, some invisible force pushed my powers out of my body,” Tao explained, looking him dead in the eye. “The ceiling froze over, and the ice melted, crackled and fell onto us.”

“Hmm, well this is completely abnormal. Sit, Eris,” Brice said. I plopped down in the chair, Brice took his seat behind his desk and continuously stroked his bearded chin. “Now, it is completely peculiar… It’s never been that two Rio have lost their powers, and it’s never been two friends that it’s happened to.”

Tao and I shared a knowing look. She turned back to Brice then said, “What’re we going to do?”

“It’s not all that safe for us to be powerless,” I added.

He must’ve gotten an idea because his dark eyes lit up. “Well,” a smile crept onto his lips. “Asking for help always works.”

“Wha?” we dumbly huffed at once. I shook my head before saying, “Brice, what kind of help do you need? Everything is right in front of you, you practically own us.”

“Yeah, who’d be able to help?” Tao creased her brow.

“It’s not like I have an affinity for everything. Leave me, I’ll show you two tomorrow. But for now, avoid things that could harm you or your non-existent powers. After school, I think I’ll have something to help. Merry part.” He gently bowed to us, and we stood then bowed back.

Tao dragged me out of the doors and we started back to the dorms.

“Tomorrow? After school? What the shit, I lose my powers and now we’re playing tea party? Did he do this with you? How in the world are we supposed to get them back? Why did this happen? Please, tell me why. Because I don’t have an answer to any of my questions, and it’s tiring to be so overwhelmed and stressed out!” Tao frantically said, waving her cold hands around in front of her chest.

“Tao, it’s not so hard after a while. Brice knows what he’s doing, but, I’m not so sure about playing tea party either. We’ll just have to wait.” I gave her an apologetic smile; Tao rested her head on my shoulder.

We had been talking to Brice for a while, and it was nearing 1am. But, I couldn’t care less because that next day was Saturday, and, I had to make one more stop. I had decided to cast circle tomorrow night, but now that Tao’s powers were gone, we needed some extra candles. It was completely out of the norm for Rios to be out this late, and we had to go all the way over to the Rec Hall. In the Rec Hall where kids performed rituals or just hung out, there was another gigantic room—for candles. Literally hundreds of candles, row upon row upon row, just in this extra storage room. They were used for circles, or if someone wanted a candle for the night. And, the candles were based on affinity, and I knew there had to be some Ice ones in there.

I held Tao’s forearm as we entered the closed gates. The door wasn’t locked, but it was steel and it took both of us to open it. Tao shut the door after we got in, then followed me down to the room. We creaked open the next steel door and the different scents of candles hit us.
“It always smells good in here,” I grinned.

“What do we need? You have four candles for your circle,” Tao softly said as she observed the different candles.

“Yeah, those are for me, we need some for you.” I spotted the first light blue candle and made an “aha!” sound. Grabbing the first, my eyes lifted and I saw the second. Tao grabbed another, but we just had to find a fourth… Oh! (Trust me, this would be much harder if our vision wasn’t so good. There were well over a thousand candles in there.)

Tao seized the last and we quietly left the room, shutting the large door behind us. Ten minutes later, we were climbing up the stairs in the Girls’ Dorm and getting back to our room. I sat the candles on her shelf, Tao put hers next to mine. She turned to me as she stripped off her hoodie.
“So, you’re saying you’re gonna cast a circle for both of us?”

“No,” I corrected, “we’re gonna cast a circle for the both of us.”

“But, I dunno how to do that shit,” Tao sighed.

“Neither do I. Well, sorta—whatever. Tomorrow afternoon, stop at the library and read about yours, okay?”

Tao nodded as she crawled into the bed. “I’m hella tired, goodnight.”

I took off my clothes then flopped back onto the soft bedspread. Five seconds into laying down and relaxing, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Dallas: r u sleojaeping?

His typos made it clear that Dallas was shit-faced.

Me: Baby, get some sleep.
Dallas: HeAKJy nhl. paibSues wqhxat?

This was one of those times when autocorrect did not want to correct him.

Me: Dallas.

Dallas: Nothing. naijJusjnvSayingqmxks

He was drunk. Seriously.

Me: Go to bed, good night.

Dallas sent a few random letters then continued blowing me up. I didn’t bother checking my phone every time it buzzed, Dallas was just sending me random words like “hey” or “Eris” or “wake up” or “hah,” just drunk stuff. (At least I know he was at that party.) My notifications started signaling phone calls (Dallas was a drunk-caller), and they lasted about two seconds. Many phone calls and text messages later, I slowly closed my eyes and got to sleep.
====
I knew the second I should’ve woken up to check on Dallas because he interrupted my dream. I had been lying out in the sun (sunny weather is the bomb) on a big, heart-shaped floatie in the middle of a lake made of Sprite (who knows?), when all of a sudden everything disappeared and Dallas’ voice burst into my skull.
“You’re too young to sleep so late!”

God, he reminded me of my Father. My eyes fluttered open to meet Boing’s heavy glare with her fluffy tail resting on my neck. She made her annoyed squeak sound, sneezed, stood up long enough to pad around and around in circles on my chest, then she plopped down and took up the pillow space.
“You’re really no help at all,” I grumbled.

She ignored me. I only had on a polka-dot bra, and black shorts, so I was extra chilly. Fuck, I did need to go check on Dallas—he REALLY knew how to drink. I rolled my neck on my shoulders, then pushed my messy hair back and out of my eyes. Tao was curled up in a little ball, with her arm under her cheek and her face smushed into the pillow. Cutie. Mumble and Mikey were chilling on the floor, with Mumble laying on Mikey’s side and Mikey snoozing with his face in his paws.

I ran to the bathroom, took a hot shower, then quickly got dressed. If anything, leaving Dallas by himself while he was hungover was terrible. He was usually grumpy in the morning, but especially with a headache and tons of alcohol in his system. Ha, just to see him suffer…. Anyway, I grabbed my cellphone and stepped into my shoes then left the room.

Oh boy. I walked into Dallas’ place and saw the loose tee shirt on the couch. Peeking into the hallway, I saw the cracked bedroom door, and I heard Dallas shuffling the covers around. I sat my bag on the chair then slowly approached the bed. He was laying on his front, with his messy hair and his bare back to me. His Maxi looked sexy, but I wasn’t focused on that. I softly shook his shoulder.
“Dallas,” my voice barely reached a whisper. He wasn’t budging. I shook his shoulder again. “Dallas.” Nada. I put my hand on the base of his neck and got close to his ear. “DALLAS!”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Dallas popped up and threw a pillow at me.

“Ow!”

“Oh, baby.” He groaned. Dallas rubbed my cheek and said, “I’m sorry, but don’t do that.”

“It’s… fine? Jesus, boy, get up!” I poked his shoulder but Dallas didn’t smile. “When did you get home?”

“Uh…” Dallas glared at the clock on his nightstand. His normally bright blue eyes were reflecting his mood: dull and crestfallen. “2am, I think. I dunno.”

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his thighs, and his head down. I ran my fingers through his messy locks, making Dallas sigh and rest his head on my stomach.
“Maybe a shower,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Shush. I know, I’m dirty and need a shower. And, dear God, I need food! And coffee! And sleep! Ughh,” Dallas flopped back onto the bed and covered his face with a pillow. He still had on his jeans, but they were low-rise so I had a good view.

“Rebel, maybe you shouldn’t stay out so long, since you enjoy sleeping the day away.”
I called him Rebel for two reasons: it was his middle name, and Dallas read this story about a guy named Rebel who always drank. Plus, he was my little Rebel.

“Not in the mood for jokes.” His voice was muffled but I could hear him clearly.

“Okay. Well, take a shower, I’ll make you food and stuff.”

“Thanks, Avatar.” Dallas chucked the pillow at the wall, and I flinched when it landed on the hard surface with so much force. He got up then squeezed my hip. “I can’t kiss you because I have every hint of alcohol on my breath.”

I chuckled and Dallas patted my ass. He shut the bathroom door then did his business while I went to prepare him breakfast. 20 minutes later, a fresh Dallas walked into the kitchen for breakfast, coffee, and medicine. He took a sip of the coffee and made a satisfied groan. He leaned his head back to me.
“Did I ever tell you that you make caffeine taste like Jesus?”

“I’ve been told before,” I giggled, handing him the plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

“And did I ever tell you that you have just made food my new drug?”

“Nah, but you should. And, did you brush your teeth?”

Dallas nodded. “Why—” I didn’t give him time to answer before devouring his lips. Keeping my lips on his, I took the coffee from his hands, and Dallas seized my hips. He trapped me against the counter, using his tongue to explore my mouth while I inched my fingers into his sweatpants. We finally pulled away, breathing hard and Dallas had a slight smile on.

“Because I wanted to do that,” I grinned, walking to the living room.

Dallas quickly joined me and he ate his food while I searched for something to watch. He took his plate back to the kitchen then laid on the cushions with me. I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him about Tao losing her powers, Dallas wouldn’t really care.
“We probably need to check on the Twins,” he muttered.

“What? Are they shit-faced too,” I groaned, tossing my head back and closing my eyes.

“If I was that bad, they have to be drowning in a tub of beer. Come on.”

Dallas yanked me off of the couch and we quickly went to Bear’s apartment. His place was pretty neat, he just had a few misplaced items here and there (not to mention everything was dark, and, all of the curtains were closed). In the bedroom, Bear was laying on his stomach with the covers tossed to the side and his tee shirt dangling at the foot of the mattress. Dallas gave me a look then mouthed, “I’ll do it.”

I nodded. Dallas took a deep breath then crossed over to the side of the bed. He hit Bear with a pillow, he didn’t budge. Dallas tried over and over, but nothing. He rolled his eyes then grabbed two more pillows. Dallas hit Bear with so much force that I even flinched. With lightning speed, Bear hopped out of bed, shoved Dallas onto the ground and yelled, “GET OUT!”

I picked up a pillow and hit him in the stomach. Bear barely (haha) moved, but he was taken aback by the way I hit him.
“You get off your ass and get in the shower,” I huffed, giving him a death stare. “And say sorry.”

Bear sneered at me but grinned at Dallas. “Sorry, fucker. I’ll go for the nuts next time.”

“Thank you.” Dallas grinned back as he picked himself up. Bear hurried off to the shower then did his own business. Dallas looked back at me with dark green eyes and said, “You can wake up Christopher. He actually scares me a bit.”

I shrugged and we left to go and get Bull. Once again, his place was really nice, and he was in his bedroom snoozing away. The duvet was a bright blue pattern, and the gazillion of pillows were a cute shade of blue (they really contrasted with his white hair). I hit him with a pillow, nothing happened. After the tenth time, Bull seemed as if he was dead. I gave Dallas a helpless look but he mouthed, “Super hard.” I heeved a great sigh then saw Bear appear in the doorway. He asked me for the pillow but I scrunched up my nose to make him back down.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Bull. I held the pillow out then, I rammed it down onto his back.
“WHAT THE FUCK!”

I think that did it. Bull sat up then saw it was me. “You little—”

I ran over to Dallas and Bear and stood behind them, looking over their shoulders at the hungover victim. Bull hopped out of the bed then gave me a death stare.

Bull twisted up his mouth. “Someone make me breakfast, I need to shower.”

“Anything else for our queen?” I said under my breath.

“I’d like your head on a stick. Your queen shall be clean.” Bull slammed the bathroom door and did his own little business.

By time Bear and Bull were done with breakfast and going about their day, Dallas and I were sitting in the bedroom and talking.
“…and it was really nasty,” I giggled. I just told him a story about the time my friend had cat pee in a cup and poured it in my backpack. (We were 15, don’t judge.)

He tossed his head back and started laughing. I pulled him down into a kiss, but I didn’t expect Dallas to stick his tongue into my mouth.
“Baby!” I giggled.

“I want to show you my love,” he laughed into my mouth.

I pushed him off. “Show your love in another way, but don’t choke me with your organ.”

“What the….” Dallas sighed and shook his head. “Choke you with my organ?”

“Tongue”—I stuck my tongue out—“organ.”

“Eris”—Dallas put his finger on my forehead—“weirdo.”

I blew him a kiss and Dallas kissed me for real. After the eternal kiss, he pulled back then said, “I have to go soon. And, I don’t want to start something we can’t finish.”

“Poop! Where do you have to go?” I replied`.

“Uh, Riva and Ripley, duh. And, I have to check on Hannah and Harley. Oh, and I have to go practice. And I have to—”

“That’s amazing, but I don’t care.”

Dallas pushed the side of my face as he got off of the bed. He reached into his closet, grabbed something then sighed. Dallas pulled out a deep blue shirt and grinned. “You might wanna close your eyes, I’m getting naked.”

“Oh, let me just open my eyes,” I laughed, turning to his body.

Dallas stripped his white shirt off then changed into the blue one. He tossed it over his shoulder, and into the hamper.
“Awh,” I pouted. “That wasn’t naked.”

“Close enough. Come on, I’m gonna walk ya back,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. Dallas wrapped his arm around my waist then nuzzled my hair.

“Ew,” I pushed him away but I was laughing. Dallas snapped his teeth at me. “Sorry, I don’t like people touching my hair.”

He looked down. Dallas hooked my neck in his elbow and (annoyingly) ruffled my hair like a relative would do to me. I had to reach down and grab his groin for him to stop.
“HEY!” Dallas laughed.

“Don’t touch.” I jumped on his back and started ruffling his hair. “Unless you want me to cut this off.”

“It’s beautiful, so don’t touch me!”

I dug my fingers into his thick hair then messed it up, but Dallas kept moving his head from my grip. We were walking down the hallway, so we probably looked very stupid. Dallas pulled me back to my feet and hooked his hand behind my neck to pull me close.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” he grinned.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I replied, running ahead to race him.

Dallas broke out running after me, and we made it to the dorms much faster than expected. I reached up then ran my fingers through his hair once more.
“Thank you for saving me from a terrible hangover,” Dallas chuckled.

“Anytime. And, thank you for touching my hair like a creep,” I smiled.

He kissed the top of my head and sent me on my way. Now, this circle: it’d be fairly easy to cast Tao—since she had one affinity to control. But me, that would be a bit different because I had never done all four. Hmm.

Heading into the kitchen for my brown pop, questions swarmed around in my head, but, I wasn’t that freaked out about the circle. Hell, I’d seen someone cast one, and call their powers, but any other time, it hadn’t really crossed my mind. I was still gonna do it. And, Tao had to call her own. She texted me earlier and said that she read some stuff in the library, so she somewhat knew what we were doing.

I walked upstairs to our room then saw Tao walking down from the other hall.
“Hey,” she called out.

“Hey.” I waited a few seconds for her to catch up. She looped her arm with mine and we continued walking. “So are you excited to cast this circle?”

“Actually, I am very excited. I told my mom, and, since she’s such a softy, she freaked out. But I told her that I was okay, and we were doing the circle tonight.”

“Oh, good. Well, it’s 6 right now… So, be ready at 9pm, and we’ll have enough time.”

Tao nodded and opened the door for us. I went straight to my nightstand then started searching around for my lavender batch that Nana gave me, and I needed the eucalyptus. They both smelled really good. And together, that’s like Jesus touched my nostrils. I grabbed my four candles, and Tao handed me hers.
“Thank you.” I put the candles together on my desk with a silver lighter.

Oh! I almost forgot about the candle Giovanni gave me! While I was getting the stuff together, Tao had taken the time to braid the lavender and eucalyptus together in one long strand.
“Heh, thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome. This smells amazing,” Tao replied.

“Imagine what it smells like burning.”

Tao smiled and handed me the braid. By time it was 9pm, we were gently putting the stuff in one of Tao’s bags so we could leave for Ria. 200.

When we found the circle to stop at, I looked at Tao and reached into the blue bag. I sat the candles and lavender against a tree then Tao drew a circle in the air with her cold hand.
“This is the circle,” she explained.

“Alright. So, these four trees”— I pointed to the four gigantic oaks—”will keep the barrier.”

“Kay.”

Tao and I decided for her to cast first, so we grabbed all the blue candles and put them North, East, South and West to create a perfect cross. I lit the lavender, then motioned for her to step into the middle of the circle. Clearing my throat, I stepped into the little opening and began:
“I call for Ice to join our circle, and give back the gelid powers to Tao…” I rotated around the entire circle, waving the burning strand through the air. Tao sat in the middle of the circle, with her eyes locked on all of my movements.

I lit the first candle and continued, “Ice for integrity, Tao doesn’t even have to try.”

Second candle. “To be creative, and not to lose our spark, Ice for Imagination.”

The third one seemed to glow brighter. “Ice for Importance.”

When I lit the fourth, I could feel it. The short jolt of energy that ran down my spine. But, it wasn’t a regular energy—it was chilly and made goosebumps appear on my skin. “Ice for Individuality because no one’s the same. I call Ice to this circle!”

I quickly left the circle and closed it back up with a rock. (For a beginner, I said that beautifully.) All of the candles’ lights whipped up, and grew in size until Tao looked like she had four lamps around her. There was an energy. A light blue, glowing energy that ran candle to candle and cast a light upon Tao’s body. She was pretty much glowing herself. But, Tao had her eyes closed, and it was obvious that she was taking deep breaths, to inhale the faint scent of lavender, and to be more connected to her powers. We read in the book that using a part of the affinity was important to the circle, so, I clutched my water bottle, and screwed open the top. There was just ice in here. I grabbed all of the little cubes, then threw them into the circle with Tao and I was shocked. Shocked by how the ice just attracted to her, like Tao had magnets in her hands. She clutched them in her palms, and I saw the glow from her back. Her Maxi. Tao’s black top gave me a good view of her upper back and the light blue icicles glew a dark blue, and I knew it was from the Ice. Damn, she looked so calm and relaxed.

The candles whipped out, and everything was still. No glowing Maxi. No energy connecting the candles. A relaxed Tao. The air was very chilly, and I had an idea why. She opened her eyes, then grinned at me.
“That was great. But it’s your turn.”

I weakly smiled and nodded.

Tao stood up, then fixed her long hair—the Ice and wind had made it a bit messy. She picked up the blue candles, and I placed the Elements in their spaces. Air was West, Fire was South, Water was East, and Earth was North. I had the purple candle in my hand as I stepped into the middle of the circle. Spirit was the center. Tao cleared her throat then smiled at me.
“Sit down, and relax,” she said.

I plopped down Indian-style then put the Spirit candle in between my legs. Here we go…. Tao relit the braid, then waved around the air.
“I call the Five Elements to join our circle, and bestow the importance of our powers upon Eris,” she gently said as she circled the space.

Tao finished purifying then walked to the Air candle.
“I call Air to this circle. We breathe it in our first breaths, so it is only right that it be the first Element called. Come to her, Air!”

Breezy.

Second candle was Fire.
“Fire warms us with its passionate flame. I call Fire to this circle!”

Hot.

She sauntered around to Water then grinned.
“Water is a perfect balance to flame, just as Eris is a perfect balance to soccer. I call Water to this circle!”

Cool.

Earth would be quadruple thee best.
“Earth supports us and nurtures us. As the fourth Element, I call Earth to this circle!”

Grass.

Quickly moving, Tao crossed over to me and nodded.
“It’s within all of us, important and soothing. I call Spirit to this circle.”

Relaxation.

I felt a jolt of energy run down my body, and I shut my eyes. The water…. air…. fire…. spirit…. earth.

My ears were filled with the crashing of waves against the beach shore.
It felt as if I was laying in the grass, with flowers and tall trees around me.
The warmth of a fireplace on a cold Christmas night made me happy and bubbly inside.
Wind was whipping through my hair, like the strongest tornado ever was approaching.
Mmm…. I was relaxed, and it felt like nothing mattered except for being calm, and alone.

Waves of power and relaxation rushed through my body, making me feel so…. Like everything was in place. I could feel the heat, the warmth of a blazing fire. I could feel the cool breeze softly blowing in the spring. I could feel water running down my body in the shower. And I could definitely feel cool, calm and collected emotions filling my brain. Inhale, exhale. In and out. Take and give. There was a fluttery feeling in my lower stomach. My Maxi was glowing. Gently placing my hand on my navel, I could feel how warm, and how powerful my Maxi was. Damn.

Before I could move again, my eyes shot open and I saw the energy. Whoa…. Red, blue, white, purple, and a green energy twirled together between the candles. It kinda startled me by how close the energy was to touching my body, there was no telling what could happen. Tao had tossed five sheer scarves into the circle: one to represent each Element. But, even touching the scarves, it made me radiant to feel the power charging through my body…. like my old self was back…. and it felt as if I had never lost the power. Though I’d been in the circle for a minor time, it was like an eternal event, that nothing compared to.

The energy slowly dispersed… leaving me alone in the circle. The candles whipped out, and we were left with soft scents of nature, and the melted wax. Tao glared at me.
“That felt like heaven,” I breathed.

“See? I know a thing or two about casting circles,” she giggled as she cleared up our supplies.

I stood up, grabbed my candles and broke the annulus we created with large rocks. The circle was cleared and gone, just the scent of lavender and eucalyptus remained in the silent air. Tao snatched her bag up then we headed back to the dorms. I felt relaxed. Calm. And I hadn’t felt this way in a looooooong time; my powers had been gone.
“Thanks,” Tao abruptly said. “That was completely amazing.”

“You’re very welcome. Yeah, I didn’t know what Spirit would feel like until then,” I responded.

“Hmph, I felt a bit of Water while I was in the circle…. Is that normal?” She gave me a confused look.

“Well, it is Ice and ice is just frozen, expanded water.” I paused. “It’s not your strength, but Water still exists within it.”

Tao nodded. It was 10:30pm, and I had to make a stop at the library, so I alerted Tao to proceed back to the dorms. When I entered the library, Zara waved me over to the front desk.
“Did you finish the book?” she smiled as bright as the sun.

“Zara, that book is well over one-thousand pages, I can’t finish four in one night,” I lightly chuckled. Zara was known for finishing books in less than two days.

“Well, you can always try. Haha, what are you looking for?”

“Uhm—”

I was cut off by a hand wrapping around my midriff. It was Dallas, and he winked down at me to show he meant no harm.
“Hi,” he sweetly smiled.

I shook it off then turned back to Zara. “Spirit, please. Tao and I cast our circles.”

Zara’s eyes went wide. “Really?! That’s great!”

Dallas hooked his finger in the waistband of my jeans and kept me against his body while Zara searched for the book. She handed me a book thicker than I could fully grasp.
“Keep this, too. Was all well?” Zara curiously asked.

“Great”— I shoved the book at Dallas. “I called Spirit, too, so it was way different! Tao said she felt Water when hers was called.”

“Ah, that’s good! Have you any idea when you’ll cast another?”

“No, but, I really wanna shoot for next month. But, I’m not so sure on a date for next month.”

Zara gave a single nod. She looked past me then said, “Dallas, have you cast your circle yet?”

“No, what am I gonna cast for?” Dallas raised an eyebrow.

“Mister, you could cast for anything. It may not be as important to your strength, but it’d be a good idea. Yellow candles would suit you.”

Dallas curled his lip up. “I don’t like yellow.”

“Why not purple?” Zara gave a smirk but Dallas rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Dallas. Purple would be nice.”

“Purple’s for girls,” he grumbled. “And, I’m not that feminine.”

“To me you are,” I smiled.

Zara waved us off while she laughed. “Get out of here. Eris, keep that if you need.”

We walked away and Dallas followed me out of the library. While walking, he switched hands and palmed my backside with his strong grip.
“Hey!”

Dallas gave me an innocent look. “Ass is class, hun.”

I rolled my eyes when he tried to kiss my cheek. Dallas hooked the side of my neck and planted a big kiss on my temple. I made an unattractive groan.
“You love me,” he whispered against my skin.

“Who says? I could be playing,” I grumbled, playfully pushing him off.

“Oh, don’t fib to yourself. So, how did the circle go?”

“AMAZING! I almost freaked out when it almost touched me!”

Dallas frowned. “What is the ‘it’?”

“Energy,” I smartly answered.

“Ah, that. How’d it go for Tao?”

“Great, she really liked it. And, to purify, we used the lavender Nana gave me for Christmas, and found some eucalyptus.”

“Huh, cool. Do me a favor: cast me a circle with red candles and tell me how it goes.” Dallas flashed his half smile.

“No, baby.” I pushed his arm. “You have to do it for yourself, tell me how it goes. I’ll even help you.” I smiled up into his regular blue eyes.

“But that’s too much wooooork.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and we continued walking. Dallas stopped in front of the glass doors of the dorms, then looked down at me. He handed the book over.
“Damn,” I huffed as it dropped into my arms.

“Do you want me to carry it up? You’re kinda weak, Avatar.” Avatar was his nickname for me because I controlled the Elements, but Air was my favorite. Dallas stuck his hands out for the book and I just kicked his leg. “Ow, what the sh—”

“Hah. What’s that you said to me that one day… Don’t be a smartass, it triggers others to be an even smarter ass. Now I’m gonna say something: Don’t be a smartass, it triggers people to kick you!”

Dallas rolled his eyes before claiming my mouth. He cupped my neck as he bent down… pulling me closer to his delicious lips. We were standing by one of the picnic tables, so I put the book down and reacted with my arms around his shoulders.
“God, I want sex,” Dallas moaned.

“Not appropriate,” I giggled, gently nibbling his lower lip.

Dallas stuck his tongue into my mouth and I let out a quiet moan. He cupped my ass, then effortly lifted me off of the ground. I could tell he had been drinking cold water because his tongue felt like ice in my mouth, but it was the type of feeling that made my tummy flutter, and my heart become more of his. I wrapped my legs around his waist and Dallas slid his hands under my shirt, cupping my breasts and working his hand under my bra. He managed to squeeze my nipples, which made me wetter and my moaning get louder.
“Come back with me,” Dallas said on my lips. He teased his tongue on the hoops in my ear, and I groaned his name in pleasure.

“I’m sorry. But, I gotta go,” I smiled.

Dallas kissed my ear and whispered, “Fine, I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye,” I smiled. He let me go and I walked up to my dorm.

Our hallway was pretty quiet, and Tao was laying down in her bed with a Sprite in her left hand. She looked up then nodded.
“Hey,” I wiggled my fingers.

“Hey. What’d you get at the library?” she asked. I handed her the Spirit book. “Oh, makes sense.”

“Yeah. What really makes sense is some sleep.”

I quickly showered, then came back out to lay down. Boing jumped onto my pillow and laid on my face. Her white fur got into my teal hair, and she decided to rest her tail on my neck.
“Can you move?” My voice was muffled by her body.

Eiee-ei-eeeie.

“Is that a no?”

Ei-ei-eeeeeeeeie!

Okay, that’s a no. By time Boing got back to bed, I was gasping for air and trying not to choke on her butt. I moved her to the side a bit then took the desired breaths. From across the room, Tao had her head propped up on her wrist while she watched me suffer.
“Damn,” I breathed.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re dying,” she giggled.

“Maybe I am.”

Tao laid down and Boing scooched her tush onto my shoulder. It took me a while to get over the fact that Boing had her ass all on me, but I eventually blacked out and fell into the world of my dreams.
====
Another great sleep, but terrible awakening. I was in the climax of my dream when my phone invaded. I was swimming in the middle of the ocean, with sharks circling around me, and I was following after a mermaid who looked exactly like my mother. The faint, muffled, distorted sound of the annoying tri-tone from my cellphone made me start to choke on water, and that’s when I woke up. I grabbed the device and saw who it was.
“Hey, Dad,” I sighed.

“Hello, are you still sleeping? You’re too young to sleep so late,” he replied. (Sounded a lot like my last dream.)

“Eh, yeah, what desires my attention?”

Before Dad could answer, I realized that Tao was on the phone with her mom. Lying down in the same position as me, and answering the same damn questions.
“Tao should be talking with Sumiko, but we need you two down at Ria. 42, we have something,” he explained.

“Okay.” We said our goodbyes then hung up.

I made my way blurrily to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water, trying to shock some awake into me. Tao walked in, then did the exact same thing. We brushed our teeth together, brushed our hair in the mirror and freshened up to leave.

Tao pulled on some low-rise jeans, with a crocheted top and her boots. I put on my shorts, a Nike tee shirt and wrapped my hair in a high ponytail. We quickly left the dorms and headed to our parents at the high school. Entering the front foyer, I could see Dad descending the right staircase from the upper-Professor floor.
“Hi, girls.” He bent down and kissed us both. “Upstairs.”

“Are we gonna be like, temporary Professors?” Tao muttered.

“Or guinea pigs,” I added.

“That second one,” Dad smiled. He opened the big glass door and we ducked under his arm into the hallway. Dad led us down the never-ending hallway, all the way to an open door where Chryseis, Sumiko and Professor Nolan were talking.
“Hello,” Tao and I half-stated, half-asked.

“Merry meet.” Chryseis bowed to us. “If you’re wondering why I’m here: it’s because I was the one to ask Nolan.”

“Oh, Chryseis, taking all the credit,” Sumiko laughed and winked at her.

“Hello, girls.” Professor Nolan crossed to us and shook our hands. He had dull yellow hair, with the brightest yellow eyes like a dragon. With an affinity for Reptiles, he had a Maxi on his neck that reminded me of scales, and I loved looking at it. “I know about your powers, and I think I can help,” he said.

Tao raised an eyebrow but I spoke first: “The thought ritual?”

“That’s it. It’s like a polygraph test, but, not all answers have to be verbal. I’ll be able to see your thoughts and words, it’s pretty fun to watch and fun to experience.” Nolan gave us a light smile. For a guy almost 6”10, he was like a cuddly giant. (Rian men were fucking tall, I had no idea why it was necessary.)

“Oh. Okay,” Tao and I dumbly said.

Nolan looked at our parents and Chryseis. “Er vew jiu zau quero?” They nodded and Nolan turned back to us. “Follow me.”

I directed Tao to the door and we followed Nolan out of the Professor hall. Very tall was all I could say to describe him. Anyway, he took us downstairs and through the halls toward the extra courtyard back there. Nolan pushed open the steel doors, and we were welcomed to an open concrete Yard—much bigger than our regular ones. I knew this place was used for rituals and whatnot.

“Sit on two sides,” Nolan said.

Tao went right; I went left (dominant hand). Nolan uncloaked a small table and I could see the stuff on the top: a candle, a knife and… I had no idea what that mason jar was for.

“Okay, girls. I wanna explain a few things before y’all freak. First, the candle is so I can recite the ritual, second, the knife is for blood, third, the jar is literally for catching important thoughts—” hold up, did he say catch our thoughts?! Nolan turned to me.

“Yes, I did, Eris.” (I knew the Professors could technically read minds—one of the reasons I was such a bad liar to Dad.) “Now, I’m gonna need a strand of hair from you two. Or, are your precious locks too important?” he grinned.

Tao plucked a small hair from her hair, I did the same. Nolan brought them to the table and smiled. “Now comes the blood. Arms or hands.”

I stuck my hand out and he pricked my finger; it stung, but the blade felt kinda good. Nolan dabbed the scarlet line with his own finger, then smeared it on his wrist. And the exact same with Tao. He stood behind the table once more, then began:
“Ner awq loh b’pina, sir fsut ca xixi munn,” Nalan pricked his own finger with the blade. “Dfe de dugn d’sance. Ca huj ecza Perlo!” Wow. I shivered and that was the last thing I remembered.

In what felt like two minutes later, I sat back up and looked directly at Tao. Before I could say anything, Nolan spoke, “Good to have you back, don’t say a word. Just think.”

I didn’t say anything. Tao looked at me and my mouth dropped…. her thoughts were floating around her in purple, blue and white.

Eris? Do you feel weird? Nolan, why does my head hurt? Damn, my head feels like shit. I need to talk.

She was looking back at me with the same expression. So I had thoughts, too?! Damn! Nolan cleared his throat and sat down between us.
“Girls, I want you to say one word a piece. See what happens,” he sighed.

“Hi,” Tao quickly replied. The word came out in a shimmery, sapphire blue fog.

“Eris.” The same fog appeared in front of me! Haha, this was fun!

“Okay, say four bad words. Cursing or a negative word,” Nolan said.

“Bad. Fuck. Lonely. Upset.” My words came out in a dull, dark silver fog.

“Good. Tao, say four things that are either happy or uplifting.” Nolan turned his eyes to her.

“Flowers. Ice. Dogs. Rainbows,” Tao’s words came out in a cute, fairy purple color. She smiled.

Nolan stood up then went back behind the table. “Since your powers are gone, we’re gonna use this to assist on getting them back. So, say or think anything you want, but, it has to be related to your power or any theories y’all have about them being missing. Get it, got it, good?”

“Get it, got it, good,” we repeated, admiring the blue fog. Nolan quickly sat the jar between our bodies then stepped back. I started thinking about how my powers got taken away, or how Tao’s did.

Two hours later, I was sitting in my bed and listening to music when there was a knock on the door.
“What?” I called out.

There were five rhythmic knocks—that was Giovanni. I quickly got up then swung the door open.
“Hey,” she signed.

I was shocked to see Dallas behind her.
“He wants to hang.” Giovanni exaggerated the signs then gave a sexual gesture.

“Oh so inappropriate,” I laughed.

She looked up at Dallas and he bowed to her.
“Thanks,” he said.

“Anytime.” (Giovanni could talk, but she liked to sign more.)

Dallas let her pass by then stepped into my dorm; he let out a wolf whistle. I hit his back.
“Grow up,” I grumbled.

“Damn, girl.” He pointed at the soccer posters above my bed, and the Fire/Water/Earth/Air ones by my closet. Dallas was gazing at the Hope Solo poster when Boing nuzzled his leg, making him jump back with a startled expression.

“Awh, you’re such a girl.” I bent down and picked up Boing. “It’s called a chinchilla: slightly bigger than a ground squirrel, and, her name is Boing. Hold her.” Dallas gently took Boing and she started exploring his neck area.

I had to change, so I yanked off my top and ran to the closet. Over the rows and rows of clothes, I just picked a basic white tee shirt then tossed my hair behind my shoulders. Dallas was sitting on my bed, laughing and playing with Boing while she scurried over the bedspread.
“Okay, we can go,” I announced.

Dallas looked at me. “Can we stay here?”

“Baby, you know you’re gonna be in a dorm… With 17 and 18 year old girls… Who like dicks… And you’re old…”

“I am not old, does it look like I have wrinkles? And, okay,” he chuckled. “But, can we bring this along?” Dallas waved at Boing like she was some grand prize.

I nodded and he sprang up with Boing in his left hand. Dallas waved to Mikey and Mumble then shut the door behind us. As we walked downstairs, I told him about Nolan performing the ritual on Tao and I.
“Hey, I want something to drink,” I said.

Dallas redirected me to the kitchen and I went to the fourth fridge. I could tell some of the girls were watching us talk; I felt their intense glares.
“Are you ready?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah, sure.” I took one last gulp of my brown pop then kicked the can into the recycling bin.

Dallas led me out of the glass doors and the cool breeze hit me. Very refreshing cool breeze. Since our pets could find us easily If they ever ran off, Dallas sat Boing onto the ground and she walked the other way as Dallas headed toward Ria. 200.
“So,” I asked, “what are we gonna be doing?”

“A walk,” Dallas replied.

“A walk? Since when do we go walking together? Is that like, some date?”

“No. It’s called I’m tired of not seeing the sun, so a walk.” He huffed out of his nose at me.

“Oh. Okay, walks are fun.” I smiled and tried to kiss his temple but Dallas pulled back.

He walked ahead then started running through the trees. I weaved around, and I saw him maneuver through the trees on my left.
“Dallas, it’s not funny,” I laughed.

“Then why are you laughing?” His sexy voice came from behind.

I stood still as he approached. “Because I can laugh at myself.”

Dallas snaked his arms around my midriff and pulled me back to him. He bent my head back, then kissed me good and hard.
“Hola,” I smiled up.

“Hey, Avatar. Come on,” he said as he let go of me. Dallas slipped his finger into the waistband of my shorts and kept me close while we walked further into the trees. Ten minutes into the walk, I slipped my hand under the hem of his tee shirt, and caressed his warm skin while Dallas attempted to push me off.
“Stop,” he grumbled.

“Why?” I purred, moving lower to his groin.

Dallas eventually pushed me off, so I walked with a big pout on, trying to make him give in.

He gave me a gigantic kiss when I noticed we had made it to the stream. The stream had two sides, and we were on the other side from where Aya started coughing and dying. But, this side had a massive hill behind us, and I could easily jump into the water. I was skipping rocks when I felt his hands on my shirt.
“Ah, what’re you—” the shirt came over my head. Dallas shoved my back.

“Get in,” he said.

“Baby, I don’t want to—”

He picked me up and I kicked my feet into the air, making my sandals fall to the grass. “Dallas! Stoppp!” Dallas brought me into the water and I gasped at how cold it felt on my warmed skin.

He put me on my feet but I was waving my arms around like an idiot at how gelid the water was. Dallas had his shirt off, and I was trying not to stare as I warmed up to the water.
“Have you ever been in here before?” Dallas asked, lightly pushing water on my stomach.

“No, but I’m guessing you have,” I replied.

Dallas nodded. “Come here, I wanna show you something.”

He took a few steps away into the water, but I hesitated before following. Dallas led me further downstream, until the water was just at the curve of my covered breasts. He went over to the wall then turned around to me.
“How long can you hold your breath?”

“1 minute, 23 seconds,” I replied. (Last time my friends took me swimming, we had a contest… And I was on the swim team for six years.)

“Okay. I’m gonna grab your hand, and you have to come under with me,” he explained. I nodded and Dallas grabbed my hand under the water. He dove under and I swam after him into a small, opening under the big rock wall. He popped up, so did I.

“Where the hell are we?” I panted, slicking my hair behind my shoulders.

“No one except for me and the Twins know this is here,” Dallas gently said.

The water came up to my shoulders, but Dallas had a bit of an advantage. He leaned back against the wall then looked at me. The space was big enough for probably two more people to fit in, the rock ceiling was about 7 feet up, and the water rushed into the walls.
“How do you know about this?” I asked.

“I used to come here all the time, when I still lived with the bitches,” he mumbled, looking around the water.

“Ya mean, Dayton and Dakota?”

He nodded. “I don’t come a lot, but, I make sure no one else finds it.” He smiled at me. “I guess you’re another person to know.”

“I guess,” I smiled back.

He crossed over to me and pushed me back against the cold stone, brushing his lips over mine and pressing flat against my body. (Thank God I was tall because I would probably be struggling to keep my head above the rushing water.) Dallas peered down at my bra; his lip curled into a smile.
“I’ll save you for later,” he said.

“Later? Psh,” I pushed the side of his face.

Dallas kissed my chest then whispered, “You taste good.”

I couldn’t say anything. His finger was trailing down my stomach, stopping to trace my Maxi and play with my navel. Dallas put his hand on my nape then started to kiss my neck, using his tongue to tease my skin.
“Baby… Mmm,” I moaned, running my fingers through his hair.

From the water, I could really feel how hard Dallas was—and how his dick was pushing into my lower stomach. I reached down, then softly massaged him through the fabric of his shorts. Before I could even wiggle into his boxers, Dallas stopped me.
“W-wait,” he said. I looked into his eyes (which were dark brown at the moment), and saw the lust in his soft pupils. “Follow me. I know somewhere.”

Dallas let his erection settle then led us out of the cave, and back out into the stream. He swam over to the shore and lifted himself out of the water, then turned around and helped me out.
“There’s a place up here,” Dallas said. He looked at the hill that had tall trees and grass and plants growing, then grabbed my hand so we could run. In a matter of minutes, Dallas had me at the top of the hill and kissing on my neck.

He cupped my ass, and ran his hand between my legs. I’d never imagined having sex outside, but with Dallas, I knew that it would be fun. He gently pushed me onto the ground then laid on top of me. Dallas grinded his hard on into me, putting his hand on the side of my neck to hold me still as he sucked and nipped on my racing pulse.
“Ahhh, babe… Ohh,” I panted, locking my legs on his back.

Dallas pulled back a bit and, with the gentlest touch, he unhooked my bra and pushed it off my shoulders to let my bobbs spill out. He didn’t pay much attention to my breasts before moving down my stomach to give my Maxi open mouthed kisses. He used his tongue to trace a pattern around my navel, with my hands on either side of his head and my hips grinding on his mouth.

One thing I’d never seen on Dallas before last week was his tattoo. Not his Maxi, but when he was 18, he got a tattoo of a horseshoe behind his left ear. Dallas usually cloaked it so no one saw, but he must’ve forgotten that day. And hell, I liked a guy with ink.

I lifted my ass a bit, and Dallas eased my shorts down my legs then threw them to the side. My already soaking wet pussy was heated and leaking with my juices for him; Dallas teased by rubbing me through my panties.
“Mmm,” I quietly panted, biting my lip and tilting my head back.

He dug his fingers into me a bit, and I almost freaked from how good it felt. A good two minutes into doing that, Dallas eased my panties to the side and played with my clit, lightly tapping and rubbing me. He snatched my panties down in one grab, then rubbed his thumb over my damp folds. I was gonna say something, all until he was pushing his finger a few centimeters into my me and wiggled around.

My mouth was open, but there was no sound. Dallas started massaging my tit in one hand, while he teased me with the other. As he grazed and maneuvered around all my damp pussy and aching flesh I went a little crazy; I arched my back high and moaned his name aloud. His fingertips forced into my pussy, but Dallas would pull back out then rub my thighs. He worked my boob in circles, pinching and playing with my nipples every few seconds or so. Dallas waited… he paused… stopped moving. Then it happened.

His finger pushed all the way into me, and I gasped at the sudden feeling, and he squeezed my chest again. Dallas had his middle finger pumping into me, to make me feel just right and just turned on. But, his hand was massaging me like never before; with a strong grip and his finger toying with my nipple. Dallas added another finger, then that was all I needed to start moaning and screaming again.
“Aghhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhh!”

If someone heard us, it was highly unlikely that they’d find us, because the place was completely concealed by trees. Dallas let out a moan with me when my pussy contracted, and he added another finger. Damn. His hand was vigorously squeezing and touching my breast, and honestly, I needed to touch myself too. I moved my hand down to my clit, and I rubbed myself harder as his fingers rapidly pumped into me. To have Dallas fingering me…. massaging my breasts…. and making me feel so, empowered. Dallas always touched me how he wanted, but he knew what made me hot (I mean, he did take my virginity and he taught me what he liked). As his fingers curled inside of me, I was moaning and exploring my body just as he was.

I placed my hand atop his, and squeezed and caressed my breasts. And hell, this felt good! Especially how Dallas was touching me. While he touched me, Dallas kissed on my stomach and played with my Maxi; his tongue trailed up the ink and to the curve of my breasts. He teased by lightly kissing on my areola, then moving back down.
“Dallas,” I half-panted, half-laughed.

He didn’t answer or react. Dallas pulled his fingers from inside of me and I opened my mouth to protest, but Dallas started kissing my inner thighs. He got closer and closer to my awaiting sex, but Dallas was trying his hardest not to touch, shit, he was teasing too much! And it felt kinda good…. I put my hands in his almost-white hair and forced him closer to my pussy. Dallas reached under me then pinched my outer thigh to make me stop.
“Mmm, please,” I begged. Dallas continued his torturous kisses on my legs. All while this torture was going on, Dallas’ cock was probably aching him to be freed; he’d been hard for a while. With a quick swoop of my leg, I pinned Dallas onto his back and bent down to his waist. Pushing my hair to the side so he could have a better view, I undid his jeans (being careful not to hurt the vital parts of his anatomy) and released the prize I’d been waiting for.

I kept my eyes locked on his as I took a long, teasing lick at his shaft. Dallas tossed his head back then let out a groan; I was getting him riled up… His eyes drew back to mine and I teased the tip with a big kiss. Okay, I knew Dallas hated teasing, and I deliberately looked at him with a sexy gleam in my eyes, and kept him waiting for me to suck him dry. He balled a fist in my hair as I swirled my tongue down his length. I was getting tired of the teasing as much as he, so I wrapped my hand around his thick cock and took him into my mouth. Dallas caressed my hair, and I could feel his body detense.

I used my tongue to lick the underside while my lips devoured more and more of him, all while pumping my fist after my mouth. I started to bob my head, and Dallas moaned to imply his satisfaction.
“Stop,” he firmly said. I wasn’t expecting that, but I lifted my eyes to his and sucked more.

Dallas tightened his grip in my hair then pulled me away from his cock. Fuck. I climbed up his body, straddled his hips and looked into his flaming blue eyes. As I sank down onto his hard shaft, we both let out different curse words, and I planted my hands flat on his chest. My hips slowly rocked on him, but Dallas was thinking something different; he grabbed my hips and starting ramming into me.
“Ughhhh, Dallas! Fuck, I’m cumming!”

Wow, was I that easy with him? Well, Dallas did get me close when he fingered me, and that blowjob had me on edge.

As my orgasm hit, I didn’t want to sound like I was dying, so I clamped my hand down over my mouth to stifle my reaction as the world kaleidoscoped into brilliant color in every direction. Dallas grabbed my hands and I had to scream out. He must’ve been getting close because Dallas slammed into me harder. So hard that I had to grip the grass beneath us to keep from falling. I scoochied a bit higher, so Dallas started licking and playing with my boobs.

Dallas used his teeth to lightly nibble on me, and his tongue to trace my areola. My hair was falling over my arm, but Dallas’ tongue was killing me; rolling and teasing and flicking my nipple.
His hands firmly squeezed my midriff as he moaned out his orgasm. And I was reaching another. In less than three seconds, I was yelling his name all while announcing my climax, and his cum shot high inside of my womb.

My chest was flat against his; I could barely breathe as I rode wave after wave of passion and lust and relaxation running out of my body. He caught his breath and said, “That’s another thing off my bucket list: have an amazing orgasm outside.”

I hit his chest before saying, “Shush. Hurry, we need to go and get our other stuff.”

I craned my neck, then reached over Dallas’ waist and grabbed my panties. He was trying not to stare while I slid them on, but it was kinda obvious to see his green eyes cutting into my body.
“Dallas, are you staring?” I said over my shoulder.

“Just a little, but, it’s no big deal.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

I quickly stepped into my shorts and pulled on my bra then turned around to him. He finished pulling his jeans back on then jerked his head toward the trees. Dallas led the way back down the hill, keeping his fingers interlock with mine. We stopped at the end of the grassy area.
“Walk or swim?” Dallas asked.

“Swim.” If anything, I was not going to walk over taking a nice dip.

“Since you say so…” Dallas pushed me into the cold water (it felt especially cold since I was raw from the sex).

I clenched my teeth then let out a hiss. “Get in, I can’t take all the suffering,” I said.

Dallas took his sweet time getting back into the water, obviously attempting to make me suffer even more. After he was in, I quickly dove under then swam the other way with him behind me. In five short minutes, we were where we first came in, and I could see our loose clothing articles. Dallas tossed my shirt to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I yanked it down over my head. We stepped into our shoes and shook our wet bodies (I was more like a cat; Dallas was a dog).

“Come on.” He jerked his hand out to me and I proceeded by wrapping my arm under his. Dallas smelt good. Really good. And his hair was still wet from the water, and it made him look younger. No matter how sexy and mountainous Dallas was, he always reminded me of a little kid; he just had this little spark. Especially that dimple in his right cheek; it made his smile brighter and younger. As we walked, he started a conversation:
“What are you doing later?”

I thought for a second. “Nothing really, probably watch a movie.”

“Hm. Okay,” Dallas flatly said. (If someone asks a question like that, shouldn’t they offer to hang out?) I was thinking about my question when Dallas asked, “Do you want to come over?”

“I’d love to.” I grinned but he just rolled his eyes. “When did you ever become so generous?”

Dallas gave my butt a hard smack (he was really an ass guy). He broke from my embrace, then turned around to me and walked backwards.
“I’ve been generous all my life. I just don’t need any help,” Dallas smirked.

“Oh, please. You’re as generous as a rock,” I laughed, trying to throw him off—which I did.

“A rock? How don’t you know that rocks are really nice, they just don’t like you?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly. We don’t know if you’re actually nice, we just know that you’re a smartass.”

Dallas rolled his eyes and we continued walking.
====
Tao ran her cold fingers through my hair. “What the hell?!” I whispered.
“It was messed up,” she mouthed.

It was Monday, and we were sitting in Riate, listening to Brice talk about someone’s mom. The classrooms were all designed like the ones in college: a bunch of stairs, a gigantic-ass row of seats. And, we always sat in the last row back. Tao kicked her feet onto the desk and I gave her a sharp look; she pulled them down.

After Riate, the rest of the day zoomed by, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the library with all five of my books open on the table. In Spirit, I was reading about how it’s almost like a natural high when I cast a circle. Air was telling me about the power to “mist” myself—when I think about being invisible, and I pretty much become invisible. The thing that shocked me the most was what the back said:

Any and all of the Elements together will give one eternal powers…. Tusnced.

It said it was in another book! I trotted off to the front desk then smiled at Zara.
“Yes, darling?” she nonchalantly said. Her nose was in another book.

“Okay, uhm, I need a book. And, I think it is called Tusnced, for all of the powers,” I beamed. Another power would be so cool.

“Oh!” Zara tossed her book to the side and stood up. “Follow me, I’ll show you.” She waved a hand out and I followed her to the back room.

Bookshelves was all I saw. Dizam. I knew there were more books, but gosh! And Zara had read every single one—cover to cover! She walked me to a far bookshelf then sauntered down the narrow aisle. Zara stopped in front of frivehugic-thick books and seized them from the shelf.

“Tusnced, Reaxced, Quacvced, Fzaesced and Lopced. I highly suggest you finish these soon, they’ll be much help to you. I know you’re a bit troubled with non-existent powers, but, they’ll always come back. Here,” she smiled.

I thought I was holding a live human. “Thank you,” I weakly smiled. “Now, I’m gonna leave before I die of muscle strain.”

Zara chuckled as I quickly left the back room. Kicking the door closed behind me, I headed back to my work area, and I saw Dad down the bookshelf aisle. He was searching for something particular. I sat the books down then ran down to him.
“Hi.” I smiled.

Dad glanced at me. “Hello, Eris. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be finishing homework—”

“Finished. Now I’m studying.”

“Oh, ok. Well, you’re a bookworm, so, what are you studying? It has to be something interesting,” Dad smiled. His green eyes sparkled at me.

“My powers. Ya remember how Tao and I cast the circles? Well, I added Spirit, and, now I’m curious and reading the books Zara gave me. Oh, there’s another power that has to do with them, but that comes when I’m older.”

Dad nodded as he grabbed a book. “Hmph, that’s good.” He grinned at me. “Did you tell Nolan happy birthday?”

“32 and counting, though he looks 18,” I winked up at Dad.

“Eris, you must be attracted to older men.”

My eyes got wide, but Dad kept his gaze light-hearted, and I could see he was trying to hide a smile. “Dad! Not appropriate,” I scoffed, playfully punching his arm.

“You’re right, that wasn’t nice. Well, do you remember my 22-year rule?” he asked.

“OhmyGod, Dad. Please stop.” I cradled my face in my hands. I took a deep breath then answered, “No babies, or cutting my hair until I’m 22.”

Dad patted my shoulder. “Bingo. Now, I have to go and meet with a Prof. Bye, kiddo.” He kissed my cheek and left.

Damn, I really hated his rules. No, let me reword that: that rule got annoying. Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna have any baby-Daddy-drama for sure, I did not want that type of life. And, I liked my hair like this. Thinking about how I’d appear with short hair, I walked back to my table and got back to the books. Hell, these four new books would take twice as long to read; I was estimating a mere 2,000 pages—long-ass pages–full of Riate terms. But, it still had some english. Twenty or so minutes into reading Reaxced, my phone buzzed loudly on the glass table.
Dallas: Where r u?

I snatched up my phone and replied.

Me: Not with u.
Dallas: Answr me
Me: Library
Dallas: good. I’ll b there

(Sigh) And, here comes Dallas. I replied then sat my phone back onto the table, continuing on my page. A few minutes later, there was a hand covering my eyes and a sexy humming over my head.
“Dallas…” I irritably said.

“Hello,” he replied, bending down and kissing my lips.

Dallas released me then went to the chair diagonally from me. I gave a fake smile and continued reading.
“May I ask what you’re reading?” he asked.

“No,” I flatly replied.

“That’s cool.” Dallas swiped a book from the table and started reading. “Why—”

“Ya know,” I interrupted, “for a man who doesn’t go to school, you sure as hell like to come to the library… and annoy me.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Eris. You make me proud, but, I wanted to know why you’re reading these. These have nothing to do with your strength.”

“Katniss, I didn’t ask for your input.”

“No, I was an archer before Katniss made it cool. But, would that make you my Peeta?”

“Yeah, I’m the one who choked you,” I grumbled.

Dallas bit his lip and shut up. But, he started humming soon after… his leg was going a million miles… and he was talking a lot… and his energy was through the roof…
“Are you okay?” I asked.

His blue eyes shot up. “Yeah, I’m just bored,” Dallas sighed.

“Well, go home and play with the sisters.”

“Govea got back late last night, and, Hannah and Harley don’t like me.” He laughed at himself.

“Oh, sorry. Well—” I sat up straight and put the book back on the table—“you could help me with these books. And, I think you should get an idea to cast your own circle soon.”

“Hell no, Eris. What do I need to cast circle for?”

“Uhm, for a lot of shit. You could rid yourself of smartass, you could be more connected to Archery, or, you could even get Hannah and Harley to be your friends!”

Dallas crossed over to my seat and switched places with me. He sat me in his lap then wrapped his arm around my backside. “Okay,” Dallas sighed. “Read, I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you! And, I’ll go get a book for you,” I squealed, hopping out of his lap and running back to the front desk.

Zara looked up at me as I asked for the book. She handed me a thick book called Lyacve, then I hurried back to Dallas. He had his face in my book, with his forearms resting on his knees. Dallas glanced up. “Got it?”

“Yup, but take it before I die,” I said, passing the large tome to him.

Dallas read a few pages then his eyes got wide as he looked me dead in the eye. “Did you know that I could bless a bow? I did not know that!”

“See? Perks of having an amazing Eris as your girlfriend.” I put my hands beneath my chin and sweetly smiled.

Dallas stuck his tongue out then continued reading.

Two hours later, we were still in the library, reading and noting some enthralling stuff in our books. Hell, I didn’t know that Dallas could read so fast; he made me feel slow. He had two of his own Archery books on the table, and I had mine on my side. I checked my watch: 7:32, so I had a bit of time before curfew. The good thing was that the library wasn’t all that crowded, and I liked the quiet air—except for Zara ruffling around papers a bookshelf behind us. Wait, what?
“Zara?” I called out.

“I’m just checking,” she called back.

“No, we’re not making out,” Dallas added, smiling at me.

I bit my lip then curled up with my book. Honestly, I had no idea that Dallas liked reading; he barely talked while he was focused on the text. Directly at 8:00, we closed our books at the same time.
“Don’t copy me,” I smirked, setting the book on the table.

“I’ll try to more often. So, did you eat?” he asked.

“No. Are you asking to buy me food?” I grabbed my chest and made my mouth a perfect o. “Nooooooo.”

Dallas mimicked me in his cute way. “Yes.”

I smiled then nodded. “I’d love to eat with you. Are you gonna take them books home?”

“Those, proper grammar.” Dallas made a face. “Yeah, come on.”

“Yeah isn’t a word. It’s yes.”

He curled his lip as we gathered our stuff. I had my cross-over bag with me, so I stuffed my books into it and Dallas carried his under his arm. (We would come off as a nerdy couple.) We said goodbye to Zara, but she was in the back room. Her head popped out.
“Bye, you two. Keep those if you need,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” Dallas replied, stepping through the door with me. We went to the cafe, grabbed some late dinner and talked for a bit before it was 9pm. Dallas walked me back to the dorms, then stopped to sit me down.
“I have to go somewhere soon,” he gently said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Louisiana. My cousin wants to see me, and, hunting. So, I just wanted to tell you before Wednesday—when I leave.”

I rolled my lips in and out. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you when you get back, ” I looked into his brown eyes.

“Yeah—Wait!” Dallas’ outburst scared me a bit. “Go upstairs, change, grab whatever, you’re staying at my place.”

“O-okay, but you didn’t have to scream.” I flicked his head and Dallas smiled. “Give me 10 minutes, and I swear I’ll be back.”

Dallas stood up. “Even better, I’ll head down for you. Hurry up.” He walked the other way and I darted inside.

Five minutes was all I was giving myself to change, grab clothes for tomorrow morning, and put my stuff away. Tao was in her bed, listening to Kenny and on her cellphone. She went bug-eyed when I started removing my clothes and running around.
“What are you doing?”

“Dallas,” I yelled from the closet.

Tao snickered. “Okay. And, don’t be late in the morning or anything. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”

“Got it. Do you have my Domo Kun hoodie?” (We were geeks.)

Tao tossed it from under her bed. I had on a pair of Nike track shorts, with a black tanktop and my hoodie zipped over it, and I had managed to tie my hair into a messy knot. Hell, it was nighttime, it was time to get lazy and not care. Anyway, I grabbed my bag and waved to Tao.
“Have fun.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

I quickly shut the door then sprinted down the hallway. Sneaking out was fairly easy, few to none of the Professors walked around campus at night, and the dorms were close enough to stay hidden in the shadows. But, the only thing stopping me were the Sons of Erebus. I guess Brice and Lena had called them in for something; which meant I couldn’t pass by the mansion (though the mansion was 6 miles out from any other building. But the Sons knew how to cover ground). Lucky me, I had a shortcut through Ria. 200—there was a tree that was struck by lightning a few years back, and the split bark leaned closer toward the apartments. So I ran through the tall oaks until I saw it, then threw my bag over.

Hopping through the tree was easy—not cutting my leg wasn’t.
“Shit!”

Ugh, it really sucked being such a klutz. Anywho, I snatched up my bag then ran to the apartment building. (Aya had told me about the tree.) Knocking on Dallas’ door, I heard something. From next door…. I was about to step over to Bear’s door but Dallas yanked me into the foyer.
“Agh!” I unattractively exclaimed.

“Shush!” Dallas hissed.

I shut up and waited… He roughly pulled me into the bedroom then told me to sit still. I placed my bag on the hook. Dallas reached behind the bed and pushed it to the side a bit.
“Come here. Silently,” he whispered.

I went there. Silently.

He was pressed against my back as we listened through the wall.
“Maybe it was—”

“Shut up! You’re an immature idiot, and you treat everything like a game! You and your brother have no respect for yourselves nor others, and it is very stressing to have one eye on two 21 year-old kids, and the other on others!”

That. Was. Harsh. The first voice had been Bear, and the second to interrupt him was Lena. At least I knew she wasn’t meeting with the Sons.

“Okay,” this was Bull. “Lena, can we please talk to our—”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t care for Chryseis, nor you two. Since when is it rational to eliminate two dragons? Or six gargoyles? It is quite a shame that I can’t come back to campus with a good report; there will always be a set of Twins to piss me off. I hope that we’ll not have this problem again, because there will be extreme consequences.” She slammed a door and departed. (Is this her way of a grand homecoming?)

Two seconds later, Dallas’ front door opened and in came a storm. Bull and Bear weren’t fazed by it, but they weren’t quiet about it, either.
“Bullshit,” Bear grumbled.

“For once in my life, I want to rip someone’s throat out and stomp on them to death,” Bull added.

Dallas stood up. “What does she think you did?”

“2 dragons—”

“—6 gargoyles—”

“—and, stole a sword from Professor Hyllus.”

I barely listened after that. Two dragons, six gargoyles, and even stole something? Hey, Bear might be evil, but he and his brother would never think to do something like that. This was utter and complete bullshit. So much bullshit that I couldn’t even imagine how Chryseis would take it—she’d probably yell or stab them. (Kidding!) Did Brice know about this? Is that why he asked me for Bear late last week? And, when dragons & gargoyles are killed, or when something is stolen, the Professors and Warriors stop at nothing to find out who did it. Damn. Just to think, Lena hasn’t blamed it on anyone except Dallas and the Twins—could there be a reason? Come to think of it, the last time something like this happened, it was a stupid Sio (Junior) who did it. But, she and Brice found out that the girl didn’t know she’d killed the dragon, so they forgave her. It sure as hell wasn’t the same for Dallas or the Twins—Lena just jumped to some silly conclusion to make it them. I mean, I get that they’re older, but, really? And, Lena has been trying to rip my throat out for dating Dallas, and it’s not like I did anything! Right? And, Brice was never the one to alert them! Cruel. That bitch was just cruel. I knew that it wasn’t a coincidence anymore, but Lena was trying to do this. Oh, and why not have it happen when Eris’s best friend loses her powers and they have to cast a circle so their brains don’t explode? WELL, HELL!

“Eris.” I looked up to Bull’s sweet smile. “Two things: do you want me to fix your legs, and, you do know we can hear everything you just thought?”

I nodded and made a face before coming to the edge of the bed. Bull waved his hand over my leg, and once again, I had the warm feeling of doves fluttering around in my stomach. He pulled back and I was fixed up.
“Thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, Domo,” Bull solemnly said.

“Don’t call me Domo, Domo.”

“Don’t you mean homo??” he replied.

“Derogatory term,” I chuckled, following them out of the bedroom.

“Look,” Bear sighed, “Bitch Monster Lena is trying to chew our asses out, especially me. So, Eris, can you use that little, Air power you have to kill her?”

We all sat on the couch and the chairs.

“No,” I answered. “One, I don’t have my powers back. Two, that would only be possible if I was in a circle, then I could help. Three, ask your mom what she thinks. Mothers always have the best perspective—mostly. But, ask her if she thinks you did it. If she says something like, ‘That’s not the point, my point is…,’ then don’t let her talk.”

“And, ask other Professors. They know more than us, so, Lena probably has some secret committee to hate on y’all,” Dallas added.

Bull nodded. “You’re right. Plus, the Sons of Alke, and the Sons of Erebus have been around lately–and they are so hot–so, maybe those dragons and gargoyles being killed is an even bigger deal.”

“I guess.” Bear stood up after his brother. “Eris, get to school on time, we have to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, brother,” I giggled, cuddling up on Dallas’ side.

“And you—” Bull directed his eyes to Dallas “—don’t sleep in. We have to do a bit more tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Dallas said, wrapping his arm around me.

The Twins exited the door then softly pulled it closed. Dallas let out a deep breath.
“Do you think she has a legitimate reason?” I blurted.

“Of course not. Nor does she have the right to say something like that,” he replied. I cupped the side of his neck and Dallas put his hand on my lower back. We sat for a while, then he carried me to the bedroom and tossed me into the bed. Before I could even pull the covers back, Harley and Hannah swopped into the room, with their impressive wings keeping them aloft.
“You two, out,” Dallas barked at them.

Hannah landed on the dresser and cawed at him, Harley got in the chair.

“Xan hsuvo liud nuuw,” Dallas firmly repeated.

They finally got the message then flew out the window and to wherever. Dallas shut the window and looked over at me. I yanked off my Domo hoodie then tossed it to the chair.
“Cute,” he said as he crawled under the covers with me.

“Uhm, shouldn’t you get into your pajamas?” I asked.

“It’s naked or everything, there’s no in between.”

“We can do naked.”

Dallas lightly hit me with a pillow.”Get to sleep before I suffocate you with this,” he joked.

I grabbed another pillow and hit him even harder, but Dallas put his hand on my arm. He pulled me into his tight embrace, hugging me down against the pillow.
“Dallas! I’m gonna die,” I giggled.

“Don’t die, go to bed,” Dallas responded. He pushed into me from behind and laid on his back. I stayed on my stomach, cradling the pillow to my chest.
“Goodnight, Eris.”

“I love you.”

I’m pretty sure that I went to bed before him, because I was out in two seconds.
====
Sahmi was talking about our powers and bodies as we got older. He asked a question,
“What are the three main body types?”

No one raised their hand. Wait… For real?! I raised my hand and Sahmi directed his gaze to me.
“Ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph,” I answered.

“Good. Wanna describe the differences?” Sahmi gave me a secret wink.

“Well, Ectomorphs are lanky, not a lot of body fat, and lean muscles. Mesomorph is medium, ya know, tall and athletic. And, Endomorph is kinda bulky, curvy or even just rounder.”

Most of Rian kids had been in Rianate all their lives, and even the smallest things were so easy to forget, since there were different ways to live here. But, hell, I had almost forgotten them, so, I couldn’t really talk.

Sahmi nodded. “So, you should be able to tell what type you are, all of our bodies are pretty much done growing. And…”

“How did you know that?” Tao whispered to me.

I turned to my left and met her icy eyes. “Magic.” She flipped me off and we continued listening to Sahmi.

After Riate and lunch, then came Art—and it seemed like Verc was in a good mood. But, we honestly never knew with her. She assigned us a project: an abstract painting, using only the colors yellow and blue. With a partner.

Tao spilled some blue paint into our little jar, while I mixed the yellow into hers. We were mixing and talking and preparing to paint when Verc announced something.
“This is a challenge for anyone who wants it: use wax on the canvas. See how that works.”

Wax? Oh! Once, I melted crayons on the lamp at home and the wax got everywhere, but it still came out pretty! I leaned over to Tao.
“Hey, crayons,” I whispered.

“Crayons? Hun, we’re not five,” she quietly chuckled.

“The wax. We can ask Verc for a candle or blow dryer.”

Tao stopped and thought… Her face was priceless. “Yes! Come on, let’s ask.”

We hurried over to Verc’s desk then smiled (we had to be suck-ups for the moment). She looked up with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, girls?”

“Okay, two things: do you have crayons and, a candle or blow dryer?” Tao asked.

“Yes. Is that gonna be your wax?”

“Mmhmm, blue and yellow crayons,” I added.

She stood up. Verc led us to one of the six closets lined on the back wall, and opened the door. Whoa. Who knew there were so many crayon colors?!

Tao chose three dark blues, and four bright yellows; I grabbed two light blues and a golden yellow. Verc shut the door then pointed to another one.
“There are candles, but no blow dryers,” she said.

“Thank you,” we smiled.

I told Tao to get situated at the canvas, and I was to grab the candles. Two people means two candles. Whoa again. In rainbow order, Verc had over 30 candles on the six shelves, and they ranged from short and stubby to talk and skinny. The skinny blue one caught my eye, so I reached in and grabbed it. There was also a skinny yellow one. (Way to follow through with the color.)

I walked back to Tao and nodded. Before Verc had announced the wax, we had smudged blue and yellow shades onto the canvas to rid of any white spots. And Tao had lined the peeled crayons on the top of the canvas, so when the wax melted, it dripped down over the paint.
“Okay.” I smiled then lit the candles. “You’re any color you want.”

“Thanks,” Tao said as she grabbed the blue candle. We barely even had to touch the flame to the crayons for them to start melting blue and yellow wax.

Art was really good (we weren’t done with our wax painting), and Math was just the same. After Math, Dallas texted me to come to his place so we could hang out once more before he left. Alright. I skipped Affinity Hour (like I had been doing for a month) then walked down to Ria. 24.

I walked in through Dallas’ door and heard how annoyed he was.
“Harley, I will be happy to deep fry you,” Dallas groaned.

Harley “yelled” back at him.

“I’m older! What are you gonna do about it, run off to Hannah?!”

Caaaaaaaghhw.

“It’s not gonna be funny when you’re on a plate… And all of your precious little feathers are plucked off from your body… And some weirdo in Kansas wants to eat you for dinner!”

I was standing in the doorway of the bow room, listening and watching them argue. Harley was trying to touch the bow Dallas was holding, but Dallas kept swatting his talon. He literally looked like a little kid trying to touch the water with his toe, but he didn’t know if it was warm or cold.
“Stop it, Harley!” Dallas exclaimed.

Caweeeeeagh.

“You eat vulture vomit!”

Cagghhhhhhh.

Harley flew up and practically screamed at Dallas. They reminded me of dysfunctional brothers: always arguing, hate each other, hurt each other, but they did everything together. Dallas put the bow back, Harley mimicked him by moving his gigantic wings out. Dallas turned around and waved at me, Harley turned his neck and lifted a wing at me.
“Vulture vomit?” I grimaced.

“Yeah, it is disgusting.” Dallas kissed my nose. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, kinda mad that you have to leave.”

“Sorry. But, a week without Harley is heaven.”

Harley made a grunting sound then flew out of the room. He really hated Dallas.
“So,” I said, “what are you doing?”

“Choosing one to take,” he answered.

“Hmm. Pick a color: red or black?”

Dallas thought for a second. “Red.”

I grabbed his bow with red bolts. Dallas made a “duh” sound as he took them.
“Thanks, that was easier than I thought,” he smiled.

“No need to thank me. Just worship me,” I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Dallas gave me a big kiss and squeezed my ass in his large hand. I broke away.
“Have you seen my hoodie? I think I left it,” I said.

“I dunno.” Dallas pulled away and walked out to the living room. “With Harley and Hannah, anything they find is automatically theirs. So, don’t count on finding it.”

“Eh, whatever. Can I—”

“Eris, you’ve asked enough questions. Shzhh.” Dallas waved his hands in my face.

“Well, gosh. Anywho, I was asking to ask you a question. So, may I ask another question so I can stop asking questions and we’ll be question-free?”

“What do you possibly want,” he flatly sighed.

I smiled. “Wait, so I can ask the question?”

“Eris!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But, I was just asking if you seriously want to cast a circle. Ya know, I’ve got this shit down. And, I think I’m casting one next month, or, whenever I have some free-time.”

“Well,” Dallas said, “that’s great, but, I don’t need one. Why can’t I just watch you?” He grinned, looking like a handsome little boy.

“No, Dallas. Do you know how awkward it is to have some idiot staring you down while you’re trying to concentrate?”

“Just block me out.”

I looked him dead in the eyes, and Dallas stared back harder. He hit my arm and I blinked.
“Damnit!”

“Haha,” Dallas smirked, poking my shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” I frowned.

He kissed my forehead then sat back on the couch. I wrapped my arms around his neck as Dallas cut on the tv; he rested a warm hand on my thigh. As I adjusted my body on the cushion, I reached behind my back and grabbed the pen that was secured on my belt loop. I had been drawing on my hand in Math, but I forgot to take the pen off. I hovered over my hand and finished the doodle I had started. I covered the entire back of my hand with a detailed drawing of a sacred heart; it was a design I’d been sketching since I was eleven. It had flames dancing up the back, a crown of thorns on top of it, a spray of roses along the bottom, and in the center I drew a scrolling banner with my name in the center. Dallas peaked over and seized my hand.
“Wow, that’s good. Nice,” he frowned in approval.

I bit my lip. “That’s not even half of what I started in class.” I rolled my sleeve up and Dallas chuckled.

“You should be a tattoo artist; you have a lot of creativity buried inside of you.”

“That’s actually my dream job.” I smiled and Dallas stroked my bare thigh. His hand went higher up, up until I gasped at his warm touch by my covered sex.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop here,” Dallas chuckled. He brought his hand back down and I sighed. That sigh made the rest of my body realize how tired I was, so I sprawled out on his chest and Dallas put his hand on my hip.

“Good afternoon,” I yawned.

“Good afternoon, Avatar,” he laughed.

My eyes shut on instinct, and I only paid attention to the beat of Dallas’ heart. Bum… bum… bum… bum… zzzzzzz.
====
END OF PART 5
I ended the story with Eris sleeping because I didn’t want to blow your brains out with boring shit. This part isn’t all that important, and I didn’t just want to bullshit it. Part 6 will definitely be up tomorrow night.

-L11

---

The clock was ticking at the same beat of my fingers tapping on the desktop. Tick, tock, Eris. Tip, Tap, Eris. You’re gonna ace this test—hopefully. And right now was one of those times that I knew I was gonna massacre. Easy stuff, we learned the majority of it that month, so, it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Okay,” Nanaya announced. “You all may begin.”

Eris Faye was the first thing I scribbled down. Tao tapped me on my hand and I looked over to see her icy blue eyes all confused. I wrote down the answer to number one; she hit herself on the forehead, mouthing, “Duh.” For a five-page test, it was fairly easy to finish in less than 90 minutes and have on Nanaya’s desk.

After History was over, Tao raced down with me to Body Science so we could ask Sahmi about our next quiz. When we got in, Sahmi was sitting on top of the desk, with a pencil floating in front of his face. His affinity was Gravity, and it was amazing to watch him.
“Sahmi?” Tao blurted.

“My ears are open and my eyes are directed on yours,” Sahmi replied, looking directly into Tao’s eyes and snatching the pencil out of the air.

“U-uh—”

“She wants to know about our upcoming quiz,” I snickered, finishing her beautiful sentence.

Sahmi made a face. “Sa quf pors whi acneme duso?” Translated to English, that meant: “And, what would you like to know about the quiz?”

“What type of questions there are,” Tao answered. “I don’t like multiple choice because it messes me up, and writing is a big no, my nails are mucho too importanto!”

He chuckled at her “accurate” Spanish. “Well, Tao, see me after class, we’ll figure something out.” Sahmi winked at her just before the bell rang.

We darted to our seats then pulled out the assignment Sahmi wanted us to do in our textbooks. Following Body Science, I went to Riate and Brice called me over to his desk… What did I do?!

“Hello,” I said, showing the sign of respect.

“Hello, Eris. Uhm, have you seen Caine Prath lately?” he asked.

“Yeah, just yesterday. Why?”

“Lena needs him. Thank you, Goddess, merry part.”

(I loved how they referred to us as Gods and Goddess.) I ran off to my seat, then Tao walked in with a late pass to Brice. She joined me in the back and put her feet up on the desk.

As class progressed, I had a thought of Aya and did I ever give her that necklace. It was late January, and Tao and I had moved on with crying ourselves to sleep about Aya; we knew better than being little brats about it. Two weeks ago, we spread her ashes in my backyard, so we always knew where she was and how we could be connected to her. That was one thing I was happy about, others, not so much.

My Elements still weren’t working, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as last month. Turns out, the Elements made my reflexes stronger (I have no idea why) and it made me super alert during class. So, that was good. And, Dallas had been so good to me, like always. After Riate, we had lunch (walking tacos) then headed off to Art, and I was super happy because Verc was in a good mood. She had us create an abstract painting of what our affinity was in our own eyes; not what it was meant to be or what other people thought.

So, I splattered red and blue and white and green paint on the canvas, then used my pinky finger to swirl it around. The colors actually looked great, the white made everything a tad lighter. Just to be more creative, I even threw in some teal to describe myself. Verc had been circulating the room, but when she saw me, she stopped.
“Amazing work, Eris,” Verc grinned.

“You like it? I’m rethinking the red now that I added the teal… ” I softly replied, frowning at the bright red paint.

“No! That’s beautiful, and if anything were to change, I’d say to throw you in the paint.”

Verc patted my lower back then went on to do her business, leaving me to observe my work. The bell rang and Tao dragged me off to Math. Affinity Hour came quicker than I expected, so I decided to go and visit Govea.

I crept into the steel door and took in the aroma of the dragons. (They all smelt like vanilla mixed with cinnamon—very pleasing.) Down a few rows, I heard Govea’s deep laughter and a dragon cutely roaring back at him. I called out his name, then Govea peeked his head out from the last row of enclosures.
“Just the person.” He smiled. “Wanna meet the babies?”

“Babies?” I started walking closer and Govea went back to his place. My heart exploded when I saw the two baby dragons in the basket.

The first was a pretty pink, with an orange streak of scales going down her back. The other was a deep blue with a yellow streak of scales down her back; they were adorable.
“Meet Ripley and Riva: our new baby girls,” Govea smiled.

I gasped at Ripley’s cute little sneeze. (Ripley was blue; Riva was pink.) “I want to eat them,” I chuckled.

“Well, don’t. They need more than 17 hours to live, Eris.”

“I’ll save you guys for later.”

Ripley let out another sneeze and her scales poofed out; her sister used her small wing to gently pat her back.
“They’re a bit sick. Mama had a bad cold during birth,” Govea said, observing their tiny bodies.

“It’s an inherited trait, huh?” I smiled at Riva and she made an impressive attempt to do the same.

A good minute into talking with Govea, I heard another voice from behind me. “Well, what do ya know, Eris is in here with Govea.”

I turned around and saw Dallas approaching from a row behind. He gave me a soft kiss then looked at the babies.
“You’re cuter than I expected,” Dallas smiled, waving at them.

Riva sneezed and she shot up into the air—literally. She was flapping her little wings while she tried not to fall and break her face. Govea was a few feet away, so Dallas quickly grabbed her and she let out a baby sigh of relief.
“They are very sick,” Govea muttered, with his hand rubbing his chin in thought. “Say, Dallas, would you mind watching them while I’m gone? I have to make a quick stop in Ohio, but I don’t want them to be overwhelmed alone.”

“Uh, I guess. Harley can’t be around them, can he?” Dallas replied.

“I’m afraid not. Have he and Hannah stay at your Yard, they are far too rough to be around newborns.”

Dallas nodded and Govea thanked him again. Huh, Dallas with babies?! This. Will. Be. Hilarious. I picked up Ripley then waved to Govea. “I’ll make sure Dallas doesn’t kill them.”

“Me?! Please, I’m amazing with animals,” he scoffed.

“Says the one who kills them for a hobby,” Govea muttered under his breath. I laughed but Dallas made a boyish grunt as Govea shooed us off and we headed to the apartments.

As we walked, Riva kept trying to fly up, and Dallas had to hold her tight, but she sneezed every two seconds, so his grip was pretty pointless. He opened the door to his place, and we set the sisters free.

I plopped down on the couch, Dallas came over and laid across my lap.
“How was your day?” he asked as he cut the TV on.

“Fine.” I ran my fingers through his light hair. “How was yours?”

“You could say… terrible.”

“Why?”

Dallas’ violet eyes lifted to mine. “Because I say so. And, I got bit by Harley and Hannah. They just don’t like me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Would it make you feel better if I cooked for you?” I waggled my eyebrows down at him.

“Hmm, what will you make me?”

“I’m not telling you. Shut up and sit down.”

“Eris, that’s not very nice. You should apologize.” Dallas made his puppy-dog eyes.

“Dallas,” I mocked, “that’s not very nice. I think you should apologize.” I stuck my tongue out before running back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, I was still in the kitchen, listening to music and making this sandwich for him. Something was moving behind me… I whipped my head around and saw Dallas hop onto the counter then smile. I yanked my headphones out and laughed. “What the shit?! Go back in there.”

“Unless you want to be burned, turn around and make me a sandwich,” Dallas said, being his traditional smartass.

I stuck my hand in the drawer then pulled out something. “I know you didn’t just tell me to make you a sandwich,” I growled as I pointed the blade at him.

Dallas shrugged. “Okay, make me a grilled cheese sandwich.”

I dropped the knife back into the drawer then finished the sandwich. Cutting off the stove, I passed Dallas the plate and he took a gigantic bite.
His eyes got wide. “Awh, bitchin! There’s pepperoni!”

“Really?! I didn’t know.” I made a fake gasp but Dallas just nodded.

“Pepperoni.” He took another bite and rolled his eyes to the back of his head while he moaned.

“Is it that good?” I giggled and mimicked his face.

Dallas nodded. “It’s that good.”

“You’re welcome.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek then ran off to the living room to watch the game.

Dallas finished up in the kitchen, and took his medicine before coming to sit with me. He pulled my legs into his lap and grazed his fingertips over my covered skin—but it still felt like he was trying to tickle me. I wiggled from his grinp and he gave me a death stare.
“Quit moving,” Dallas huffed.

“No, you’re gonna molest me,” I giggled, tucking my knees to my chest.

“Molest you? I mean, I know that you’re into some freaky shit, but molest—”

I hurled a pillow at him and Dallas flopped back on the couch. He quickly threw the pillow back but I covered my head. Dallas yanked my leg again, then laid me on his lap and started tickling me.
“Dallas, stop! I will punch you in the throat!”

He dropped his hands and started laughing. I took advantage and pushed him back on the cushions, straddling his lean hips.
“Hey! That’s not fair,” Dallas chuckled.

“Life isn’t fair. Don’t tickle me unless you wanna wake up dead,” I growled while pinning his arms back.

“Wake up dead? How much sense does that make?”

“I dunno, do you wanna test that theory? Because I will—”

Dallas hit me with another pillow and I flipped back the other way. Damn, I never knew a pillow hurt that much! He had his turn on top then kissed my neck, but I pushed him onto his back then sat up straight. Dallas got up, then wrapped his arm around my upper back, pulling me closer to his warm body. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the smell of his yummy cologne; Dallas always smelt so fucking good. He must’ve noticed my sniffing because he pushed the side of my face.
“Hey!” I blew a strand of hair out of my face before sticking my tongue out at him.

“Don’t sniff people, you’re not a dog,” Dallas said.

I started to kiss on his neck, and Dallas sighed (I had my ways). He put his hands on my midriff, then slid his hand down to cup my ass while I grinded my hips down onto his.
“Hey,” Dallas laughed. “Don’t start something.”

I swung my legs the other way then straddled him backwards. Dallas put his face in the crook of my neck and started to lightly kiss me, with his tongue trailing up the side of my neck and to my ear. He was in love with my ears (not in the creepy way) because he loved to play with my earrings and piercings. On the left, I had an industrial piercing, a double hoop helix with tiny blue barbells, and two studs in the lobe. On the right, I had four tiny hoops in the lobe, another single helix, and a forward helix. He loved to tug and lick on them, and it made me crazy.
“Mmm,” I smiled. Dallas moved to my lobe and nibbled the pink ball I had in.

“You taste good,” he whispered. Damn, his warm breath made me moan.

“Well, I do like to taste good,” I giggled.

“Of course you love to taste good. Because I’m the only one who gets to ever taste you.”

I twisted my neck and glared at him. “Oh, really?”

“Yes really, Eris.” He gave me a small peck. I went in again and pushed Dallas back onto the soft cushions of the couch. He looked directly between my legs, obviously thinking about what was covered by my skin-tight leggings. I poked his stomach.

“Don’t look, I wore clothes for a reason,” I chuckled.

Dallas put his head back. “Meanie,” he pouted. Oh no, not the pout! Dallas made thee cutest pouty face, and thee cutest puppy eyes, and I always felt bad.

“No, Dallas! Please don’t, I’ll feel like shit!” I sighed. I put my face in my hands and Dallas started laughing.

“Alright, alright. Come on, I’ll let you leave this time since you have homework.”

I crawled out of his lap then sat up. Dallas walked me to the front door and leaned against the frame before bending down to kiss me. “I love you, don’t text me later,” he said.

I made a hurt face. “Damn. That was harsh.”

“What? I’m not gonna be up, I’m taking my ass to bed when you go.”

“Dallas, it’s only 6pm.”

“And? I slept terrible last night, so, I need to fix it by playing nocturnal.”

“Playing nocturnal? As in, sleep all day, party all night?” I laughed when he nodded.

“Yep, so, don’t text me.” Dallas wrapped me up in his thick arms. He put his hand on the base of my neck then whispered, “Next time, you won’t be leaving.”

“Oh really? And”—I pushed him away—”you won’t either, I may just tie you to the bed then molest you.”

Dallas down peered at me. “What is up with you and molesting?” he snickered.

I shrugged then hugged him around his neck and blew a kiss. “I love you.”

Behind his leg, Riva and Ripley looked at me like little kids—not really coming out, hiding behind Dallas. I waved to them then walked back to the dorms.

Right when I stepped the through the glass doors, my friends Giovanni and Ophelia stopped me.
“Hey, Eris,” Ophelia smiled. She had this bright pink, black and white hair, with dark eyes with vibrant rings of pink and white surrounding her pupils. Her affinity was Flexibility, and I liked to call her “Pretzel” because htere wasn’t a way she couldn’t turn her body.

She handed me a candle. “This is a gift from me and Gi, we wanted to say thanks for the advice.”

“Oh! Thanks! Everyone knows how I am about candles,” I giggled, observing the lavender candle. Last week, Giovanni was scared her powers were dying out because nothing was working, but I helped her locate her “inner Photography” and bring them back. But the unique thing was: Giovanni was Deaf, and Ophelia was her best friend.

Giovanni’s afifnity for Photography was astounding and she found art in everything she saw. Her dark blue eyes reflected her dark purple hair, and the ink of her Maxi swirled around her arms. She never used her disability as an excuse, and she was probably one of my closest friends!

“Thank you,” Giovanni signed, showing me the sign of respect at the end.

“You’re welcome, I gotta go. But I’m glad you got them back.” I smiled, bowed back then ran off to Tao.

Upstairs, I didn’t expect Tao to be sitting on the ground, with Mumble squawking and making a raucous. I giggled when he pecked her hand and made Tao squeal, “Ow!”

“Good job, Mumble. Keep it up,” I said.

“Ugh, hey. How was it with Dallas?”

I kicked my boots off, set the aromatic candle on the nightstand and leaned against the window.
“It was fine,” I sighed. “Hey, is Maz like, dead or something? He wasn’t in any classes, and he didn’t walk you to any Hours.” Tao rolled her eyes and clenched her fists on her knees.

“He’s being a complete asshole. His Dad took him through the portal, but I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday. And all he does is read my messages like they don’t exist,” she said. It was Thursday, so I knew Tao had to be going crazy.

I scoffed. “Well, at least you know he’s not dead. Alright, I have to change and finish my homework.” I peeled off my bottoms, tossed my shirt into the hamper then scampered along to the bathroom.

It took way longer to finish my homework, but after reading my book and playing with Mikey, I flopped down on the bed. Tao came over to me and sat on my legs, obviously prepared to ask me something.
“Yes?” I said from under my arms.

“You want a slushie? You look really tired, and, slushies work magic,” she smiled. I nodded, and Tao made me a cherry slushie.

I sipped the treat like a toddler, and Tao must’ve been happy because she made herself one–though it was just slush, no flavor. We ended up sleeping in the bed together, with our slushies on my nightstand.
====
Thank God the next day was Friday because I was mentally and physically exhausted. Seriously. On the History test, I got 100, and in Art, Verc displayed my work for an example. Wow, I really sounded like a goody-goody…. ew. After Math, I got texts on my phone from Bull.
Bull: Hey, are you done in class??
Me: Yes, why?
Bull: Come to the library.
Me: Fine.

I had already been heading toward the dorms, so I redirected and went to Ria. 57. When I opened the doors, I could see Bear and Bull talking with their mom, and obviously trying to tell her a joke. Bull saw me, then stood up and waved me over like an idiot with a grin so bright that he looked kind of like a mad man. Chryseis rolled her eyes at him when Bear gently punched her shoulder, and she punched him back even harder. She saw me then grinned.
“Hello, Eris. Merry meet,” Chryseis said.

“Hello. Uhm, what do you two want?” I asked the Twins.

They perked up and rose to their feet. “Oh! We need your help,” Bear deeply said.

“We don’t know how the Dewey Decimal System works… so can you help?” Bull gave me the biggest grin ever.

“I guess….”

“Eris, I suggest you run as far as possible; they’ll start depending on you like they’re lost puppies.” Chryseis gave them an annoyed look then smiled again before leaving.

“Ma!” Bear laughed. “That’s not nice!”

“I love you!” Bull called out.

I laughed when Chryseis turned around and gave them a playful finger.
“ What do you guys need?” I asked.

“Uhm, dragons. Particularly babies… that are sick… and shooting themselves into the air.”

“Ah, Riva and RIpley? They’re so cute! But, you left them alone with Dallas?”

Bear nodded as we crossed over to a bookshelf. “He isn’t that bad of a parent. Dallas turns on the game and they’re mesmerised.”

“Ya mean like you?” I glanced back at them as I handed them a thick book.

Bull carried the first book over to the lounge area, and I passed an even thicker one to Bear. He joined his brother in the red chairs then flipped them open.
“Goddamn!” They started coughing and waving their hands at the tons of dust from the book covers.

“Well, that was probably written in 1700 B.C.,” I sighed, kicking my feet up on the table.

Bear skimmed for a while then gasped, “I’ve found nothing!”
Bull took his turn then said, “Oh wow, there’s nothing useful in here!”

“Well, you’ve only read two pages, so, you should look a bit deeper. Pick a number, divide it by 2 or 4, then read that page.”

The Twins got their numbers then flipped through the books again. Bull found something and said, “It’s because mama had a dragon-flu!”

“And, they have terrible immune systems,” Bear mumbled, flipping through more pages as if he’d never held a book before. “This is so not English,” he chuckled.

Bear and Bull looked for a bit more then handed the books back to me like I was a servant. I looked at them as if they were crazy. “Since when am I your servant? God gave you two working legs, so use them.”

Bear made a groan and got louder while he stomped off to the bookshelf, same with Bull and his cute pout. They came back then looked at me like I was the devil.
“Problem? I’m just trying to keep you two in shape,” I deviously smiled but the Twins rolled their eyes.

“We gotta go and check on Dallas, are you coming?” Bull asked, standing up and running his fingers through his cloudy hair.

Every time I stared at his tresses, I just wondered how he made his clothes match something so bright. I was sure his hair was a brighter white than snow, and when I looked at Bear’s hair, it was darker than a summer night sky.

“Nah, I’m gonna stay here. Hey, Bear, can you go ask Zara for a book on Fire? And Earth? And Water? And Air?”

Bear turned the corner of his lip up into a sneer. “Uhm, do I look like a male stripper? Then don’t ask me to please you.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Caine.” Bull looked at him with bright grey eyes but Bear huffed air out of his nostrils.

“If you get it, I’ll buy you a smoothie,” I quickly bribed.

It took Bear about two seconds to sprint to the front desk and come back with the four books. He had an obsession with smoothies; there wasn’t anything Bear wouldn’t do for a smoothie. He gently passed them to me.
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Call me when you really need a smoothie.”

“Okay! Bye,” Bear said. He and Bull walked out of the library then went back to the apartments for Dallas.

Why did I need these books? Good question. Sometime that following week I wanted to cast a circle and “talk with” my affinity. Over a month without powers made me kinda antsy, so I made it a goal to cast a circle at least once so I didn’t freak-the-fuck-out. The books would just show me how to do it properly; no room for screwing up.

I sat the books on the table, side by side then opened the Air first. One thing from rituals I remembered was: Air, Fire, Water then Earth; call them in that order, dismiss them backwards. Since the Twins and Dallas gave me those candles, I’d been illuminating our dorm with them and concentrating on my homework (and it really worked). Casting a circle was completely different: I had to make sure I had a purified space; complete the circle; do it well; 10000000% of my attention is on the circle; have a purpose. Well, I had those answers and items. To purify the space, I could use the lavender batch Nana and Papa gave me, and weave it to make a scented braid. Completing the circle is easy: I just needed a certain amount of area with my candles in a compass organization. And, the rest was fairly easy to do or find or whatever. Studying the Riate words got very confusing, since I was used to the rituals being written in english. Some of the letters got turned over, some had extra lines, most had squiggly lines and twists, and I had to translate all of it! Well, after a difficult study, I picked up the books and crossed over to the colossal desk.

Zara was in her own little world, reading One for the Money and humming a tune.
“Zara—”

“AH!” Zara’s book flew out of her hand and she was all bug-eyed. She sighed when she realized it was me. “I’m sorry, Eris. Pardon me for startling you.”

That little scream she did made me jump. “It’s alright. And, you have a beautiful screaming voice, it is truly outstanding,” I smiled but Zara gave me a look.

She noticed the books against my chest and nodded. “Ah, casting circles, huh. Have any idea when you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, before this month is over.”

Zara nodded as she typed something into her computer, with her pink nails flying across the keyboard. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she had a cute flower crown on.
“Alright,” Zara grinned. “Feel free to keep them as long as you like, I won’t mind if they’re not returned.”

“Zara, I can’t just do something like that. That’s called stealing,” I was being serious but she laughed.

“Sweetie, it’s not considered stealing if I say you can have them. Heck, I’m the only Professor who’s read all 17,836 of these books, and, I have permission to give them to you. So, study long and hard, and have a great circle.”

She was right: her affinity (Reading, obviously) made her memorize chapters and lines from books, and it made her read twice as fast. So, if she said I could have them, there was no arguing.

I raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Zara wiggled her fingers at me and I exited the large glass doors.

Not only did I just get four gigantic books, but, I can reread and do an even better job on my circle. With my mental notes, I planned to cast the circle tomorrow, in the woods where it’s secluded and peaceful. I would make an addition to the lavender, and mix some dried eucalyptus to give it a yummy smell. The entire purpose of the circle would be to connect with my powers spiritually, more than just physically and emotionally. Oh! I had to use the candles Dallas and the Twins gave me, and I’d add another candle: the one Giovanni gave to me.

I’d use it for Spirit. I read that Spirit was an affinity, and categorized as an Element, so why not? The purple candle would be in the middle, with the other four in a perfect diamond to connect them all.

Seems like my circle was gonna be pretty darn good. While coming up the stairs in the dorms, my phone buzzed with a text from Dallas.
Dallas: what are u doing?
Me: Why?
Dallas: Answer my question, please.
Me: Going to my room. Why?

Dallas was just asking about his sweatshirt—I kinda took it last time I slept over. He wanted it back, but I wanted to keep it because it smelt like him and it was big and warm! Dallas said he’d steal it back, I highly doubted that he’d do it.

When I walked into the dorm room, Tao was coming out of the shower with a bit of cold smoke radiating from her wet body. She whirled around and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I waved and smiled back.

“What’d you do after school? I missed you last Hour,” Tao said as she searched for some clothes.

“Oh, the Twins needed me.”

“Hmm. And, what’s up with the books?” She slipped a shirt over her head and glanced at me.

I dropped the books on my desk then laid down on the bed. “Well, I’m casting a circle soon, so I just needed some review.”

“That’s awesome!” Tao clapped her hands together and gave me the happiest smile ever.

I smiled back as she stepped into a pair of gym shorts.

She sneered at her purse on the desk. “Poop. Well, I have to finish this for Kirsi”—Tao pulled a thin stack of papers out of her bag—”and I don’t feel like it.”

“Tao.” I snatched the papers from her. There were only four pages, so it shouldn’t have been that hard. “Half and half?”

“Honey, no. Thank you, I have to do this by myself, because this is stuff I don’t know. You know it, but I don’t.” Tao gently took the papers back and sashayed to her desk.

She put her iPhone on the speaker and turned on Kenny Chesney—oh God. I sat on my bed, listening to her sing along and do her homework. It was funny to watch Tao multitask, because she was super clumsy. The pen kept rolling off of the desktop, so she had to continuously bend over and pick it up. After the eighth time, Tao froze the writing utensil to the desk and continued working. (Great use of power.)

She closed her books and put her stuff away, saying, “Finished!”

“Good job, Tao Chesney,” I muttered.

“You know it. Hey, so I gotta tell you this story.”

“I’m listening…” I drew my eyes to her.

“So, one time when I was 14, there was this boy”—with Tao, there’s always a boy—”and he was real cute. And, I finally grew the tits to go over and say hi, but, I was just so nervous! I went over, he waved, and I freaked out! I accidentally froze his hand like—” Tao had her hands up, and there was a little spark of energy before the power shot out of the window, and sent a strong wind through the room. Tao got flung back onto her bed, and there was a big crackle of ice over our heads. After the ice stopped falling, I sat up and shook the tiny crystals out of my hair. Tao had not moved yet.

“Tao!” I scrambled out of bed and came over next to her, and she hugged me. “Are you okay?”

Her cold body felt even colder, and I was just scared that I would lose her. “That ain’t supposed to happen,” Tao nervously chuckled into my neck. I held her out at arm’s length then smiled.

I pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. But—” Tao flicked her hand out, with the intention of getting ice to hit the wall, but nothing happened. She tried over and over again until she was hyperventilating and frantically talking over me.

“Eris, Eris, my powers! What happened? Eris! Help, I dunno what—”

“Calm down,” I slowly and loudly said. Tao cradled her head in her hands. “Okay, we need to go and alert Brice, because that’s not normal.”

“Right,” she flatly said. Tao was stunned—in all of 14 years, she’d never lost her powers or anything. She grabbed a hoodie then stepped into her boots; I stepped into my shoes and we quickly went downstairs.

It was past curfew, but that was the least important thing right now. What was important was Tao. Some of the girls were sitting in the living room watching MTV, and one of those girls was Giovanni. I tapped her shoulder and her soft pink eyes locked on mine.
“What’s up?” she signed.

“Giovanni, we have to leave. It’s important, and we’re going to Brice. Just, don’t freak if we’re leaving after curfew,” I replied.

“Is everything okay? You look upset.” Her hands moved quickly, so I knew she wasn’t happy with what we were asking.

“Sorta. We… We’ll explain it later, but we have to go.” Tao and I bowed to her and she smiled back.

Tao and I burst out of the glass doors then hurriedly walked over to Ria. 84. (We knew we’d be in some deep shit if we were sprinting around like Usain Bolt—especially after curfew.) When we passed by the apartments, it was clear that there was a party going on, because chatter was beyond the roof. And a bunch of lights were on on the top floor. Tao grabbed my arm and said, “We might just have to run… I don’t want to take too long.”

“Eh, you’re right,” I nodded then we broke out into sprint.

By time we got there, Tao and I were both breathing a bit hard (we may or may not have run into a crazy gremlin).

We opened the doors and walked down the dark hallway to Brice’s office. From inside, we could hear Brice talking to someone—not to himself, but someone.
“Maybe you should tell that to your aunt, Karder,” he said.

Oh. He was talking to Xi and Karder—his sons. (The two men who escorted me into Rianate, and, they were the ones to take Aya’s body away.) I didn’t even figure that out until Dad told me, but, it made sense: they were a bit older than us (maybe 27-30 years old), they worked for Brice all the time, and they had Brice’s ,. (It just meant that Lena was their aunt.) And no one had seen Lena for a while, she went to Arizona for something. Anyway, Brice finished talking with them, then Xi and Karder passed us in the hall.
“Girls,” Xi asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the dorms? Curfew.”

“We need Brice, it’s far too important to wait,” Tao replied.

“Oh. Merry part,” Karder said, bowing to us. He and his brother quickly left to wherever they stayed—I think in the mansion. Tao took an intense breath, then slowly widened the heavy door…. Brice was standing with his back to us, sipping on wine from a silver goblet.

“Brice…” Tao faintly said.

He quickly turned to us with a raised eyebrow. “It is past curfew. You two shouldn’t—”

“Her powers are gone,” I blurted, inadvertently cutting him off.

His expression darkened. “What? Why has this happened? Show me, please.”

Tao started walking closer then flicked her wrist, but nothing…. nothing came out. She let out a frustrated sigh and plopped down in the leather wingback chair .
“I dunno what happened, Brice. We were in the dorm, and it didn’t work. It was like, some invisible force pushed my powers out of my body,” Tao explained, looking him dead in the eye. “The ceiling froze over, and the ice melted, crackled and fell onto us.”

“Hmm, well this is completely abnormal. Sit, Eris,” Brice said. I plopped down in the chair, Brice took his seat behind his desk and continuously stroked his bearded chin. “Now, it is completely peculiar… It’s never been that two Rio have lost their powers, and it’s never been two friends that it’s happened to.”

Tao and I shared a knowing look. She turned back to Brice then said, “What’re we going to do?”

“It’s not all that safe for us to be powerless,” I added.

He must’ve gotten an idea because his dark eyes lit up. “Well,” a smile crept onto his lips. “Asking for help always works.”

“Wha?” we dumbly huffed at once. I shook my head before saying, “Brice, what kind of help do you need? Everything is right in front of you, you practically own us.”

“Yeah, who’d be able to help?” Tao creased her brow.

“It’s not like I have an affinity for everything. Leave me, I’ll show you two tomorrow. But for now, avoid things that could harm you or your non-existent powers. After school, I think I’ll have something to help. Merry part.” He gently bowed to us, and we stood then bowed back.

Tao dragged me out of the doors and we started back to the dorms.

“Tomorrow? After school? What the shit, I lose my powers and now we’re playing tea party? Did he do this with you? How in the world are we supposed to get them back? Why did this happen? Please, tell me why. Because I don’t have an answer to any of my questions, and it’s tiring to be so overwhelmed and stressed out!” Tao frantically said, waving her cold hands around in front of her chest.

“Tao, it’s not so hard after a while. Brice knows what he’s doing, but, I’m not so sure about playing tea party either. We’ll just have to wait.” I gave her an apologetic smile; Tao rested her head on my shoulder.

We had been talking to Brice for a while, and it was nearing 1am. But, I couldn’t care less because that next day was Saturday, and, I had to make one more stop. I had decided to cast circle tomorrow night, but now that Tao’s powers were gone, we needed some extra candles. It was completely out of the norm for Rios to be out this late, and we had to go all the way over to the Rec Hall. In the Rec Hall where kids performed rituals or just hung out, there was another gigantic room—for candles. Literally hundreds of candles, row upon row upon row, just in this extra storage room. They were used for circles, or if someone wanted a candle for the night. And, the candles were based on affinity, and I knew there had to be some Ice ones in there.

I held Tao’s forearm as we entered the closed gates. The door wasn’t locked, but it was steel and it took both of us to open it. Tao shut the door after we got in, then followed me down to the room. We creaked open the next steel door and the different scents of candles hit us.
“It always smells good in here,” I grinned.

“What do we need? You have four candles for your circle,” Tao softly said as she observed the different candles.

“Yeah, those are for me, we need some for you.” I spotted the first light blue candle and made an “aha!” sound. Grabbing the first, my eyes lifted and I saw the second. Tao grabbed another, but we just had to find a fourth… Oh! (Trust me, this would be much harder if our vision wasn’t so good. There were well over a thousand candles in there.)

Tao seized the last and we quietly left the room, shutting the large door behind us. Ten minutes later, we were climbing up the stairs in the Girls’ Dorm and getting back to our room. I sat the candles on her shelf, Tao put hers next to mine. She turned to me as she stripped off her hoodie.
“So, you’re saying you’re gonna cast a circle for both of us?”

“No,” I corrected, “we’re gonna cast a circle for the both of us.”

“But, I dunno how to do that shit,” Tao sighed.

“Neither do I. Well, sorta—whatever. Tomorrow afternoon, stop at the library and read about yours, okay?”

Tao nodded as she crawled into the bed. “I’m hella tired, goodnight.”

I took off my clothes then flopped back onto the soft bedspread. Five seconds into laying down and relaxing, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Dallas: r u sleojaeping?

His typos made it clear that Dallas was shit-faced.

Me: Baby, get some sleep.
Dallas: HeAKJy nhl. paibSues wqhxat?

This was one of those times when autocorrect did not want to correct him.

Me: Dallas.

Dallas: Nothing. naijJusjnvSayingqmxks

He was drunk. Seriously.

Me: Go to bed, good night.

Dallas sent a few random letters then continued blowing me up. I didn’t bother checking my phone every time it buzzed, Dallas was just sending me random words like “hey” or “Eris” or “wake up” or “hah,” just drunk stuff. (At least I know he was at that party.) My notifications started signaling phone calls (Dallas was a drunk-caller), and they lasted about two seconds. Many phone calls and text messages later, I slowly closed my eyes and got to sleep.
====
I knew the second I should’ve woken up to check on Dallas because he interrupted my dream. I had been lying out in the sun (sunny weather is the bomb) on a big, heart-shaped floatie in the middle of a lake made of Sprite (who knows?), when all of a sudden everything disappeared and Dallas’ voice burst into my skull.
“You’re too young to sleep so late!”

God, he reminded me of my Father. My eyes fluttered open to meet Boing’s heavy glare with her fluffy tail resting on my neck. She made her annoyed squeak sound, sneezed, stood up long enough to pad around and around in circles on my chest, then she plopped down and took up the pillow space.
“You’re really no help at all,” I grumbled.

She ignored me. I only had on a polka-dot bra, and black shorts, so I was extra chilly. Fuck, I did need to go check on Dallas—he REALLY knew how to drink. I rolled my neck on my shoulders, then pushed my messy hair back and out of my eyes. Tao was curled up in a little ball, with her arm under her cheek and her face smushed into the pillow. Cutie. Mumble and Mikey were chilling on the floor, with Mumble laying on Mikey’s side and Mikey snoozing with his face in his paws.

I ran to the bathroom, took a hot shower, then quickly got dressed. If anything, leaving Dallas by himself while he was hungover was terrible. He was usually grumpy in the morning, but especially with a headache and tons of alcohol in his system. Ha, just to see him suffer…. Anyway, I grabbed my cellphone and stepped into my shoes then left the room.

Oh boy. I walked into Dallas’ place and saw the loose tee shirt on the couch. Peeking into the hallway, I saw the cracked bedroom door, and I heard Dallas shuffling the covers around. I sat my bag on the chair then slowly approached the bed. He was laying on his front, with his messy hair and his bare back to me. His Maxi looked sexy, but I wasn’t focused on that. I softly shook his shoulder.
“Dallas,” my voice barely reached a whisper. He wasn’t budging. I shook his shoulder again. “Dallas.” Nada. I put my hand on the base of his neck and got close to his ear. “DALLAS!”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Dallas popped up and threw a pillow at me.

“Ow!”

“Oh, baby.” He groaned. Dallas rubbed my cheek and said, “I’m sorry, but don’t do that.”

“It’s… fine? Jesus, boy, get up!” I poked his shoulder but Dallas didn’t smile. “When did you get home?”

“Uh…” Dallas glared at the clock on his nightstand. His normally bright blue eyes were reflecting his mood: dull and crestfallen. “2am, I think. I dunno.”

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his thighs, and his head down. I ran my fingers through his messy locks, making Dallas sigh and rest his head on my stomach.
“Maybe a shower,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Shush. I know, I’m dirty and need a shower. And, dear God, I need food! And coffee! And sleep! Ughh,” Dallas flopped back onto the bed and covered his face with a pillow. He still had on his jeans, but they were low-rise so I had a good view.

“Rebel, maybe you shouldn’t stay out so long, since you enjoy sleeping the day away.”
I called him Rebel for two reasons: it was his middle name, and Dallas read this story about a guy named Rebel who always drank. Plus, he was my little Rebel.

“Not in the mood for jokes.” His voice was muffled but I could hear him clearly.

“Okay. Well, take a shower, I’ll make you food and stuff.”

“Thanks, Avatar.” Dallas chucked the pillow at the wall, and I flinched when it landed on the hard surface with so much force. He got up then squeezed my hip. “I can’t kiss you because I have every hint of alcohol on my breath.”

I chuckled and Dallas patted my ass. He shut the bathroom door then did his business while I went to prepare him breakfast. 20 minutes later, a fresh Dallas walked into the kitchen for breakfast, coffee, and medicine. He took a sip of the coffee and made a satisfied groan. He leaned his head back to me.
“Did I ever tell you that you make caffeine taste like Jesus?”

“I’ve been told before,” I giggled, handing him the plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

“And did I ever tell you that you have just made food my new drug?”

“Nah, but you should. And, did you brush your teeth?”

Dallas nodded. “Why—” I didn’t give him time to answer before devouring his lips. Keeping my lips on his, I took the coffee from his hands, and Dallas seized my hips. He trapped me against the counter, using his tongue to explore my mouth while I inched my fingers into his sweatpants. We finally pulled away, breathing hard and Dallas had a slight smile on.

“Because I wanted to do that,” I grinned, walking to the living room.

Dallas quickly joined me and he ate his food while I searched for something to watch. He took his plate back to the kitchen then laid on the cushions with me. I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him about Tao losing her powers, Dallas wouldn’t really care.
“We probably need to check on the Twins,” he muttered.

“What? Are they shit-faced too,” I groaned, tossing my head back and closing my eyes.

“If I was that bad, they have to be drowning in a tub of beer. Come on.”

Dallas yanked me off of the couch and we quickly went to Bear’s apartment. His place was pretty neat, he just had a few misplaced items here and there (not to mention everything was dark, and, all of the curtains were closed). In the bedroom, Bear was laying on his stomach with the covers tossed to the side and his tee shirt dangling at the foot of the mattress. Dallas gave me a look then mouthed, “I’ll do it.”

I nodded. Dallas took a deep breath then crossed over to the side of the bed. He hit Bear with a pillow, he didn’t budge. Dallas tried over and over, but nothing. He rolled his eyes then grabbed two more pillows. Dallas hit Bear with so much force that I even flinched. With lightning speed, Bear hopped out of bed, shoved Dallas onto the ground and yelled, “GET OUT!”

I picked up a pillow and hit him in the stomach. Bear barely (haha) moved, but he was taken aback by the way I hit him.
“You get off your ass and get in the shower,” I huffed, giving him a death stare. “And say sorry.”

Bear sneered at me but grinned at Dallas. “Sorry, fucker. I’ll go for the nuts next time.”

“Thank you.” Dallas grinned back as he picked himself up. Bear hurried off to the shower then did his own business. Dallas looked back at me with dark green eyes and said, “You can wake up Christopher. He actually scares me a bit.”

I shrugged and we left to go and get Bull. Once again, his place was really nice, and he was in his bedroom snoozing away. The duvet was a bright blue pattern, and the gazillion of pillows were a cute shade of blue (they really contrasted with his white hair). I hit him with a pillow, nothing happened. After the tenth time, Bull seemed as if he was dead. I gave Dallas a helpless look but he mouthed, “Super hard.” I heeved a great sigh then saw Bear appear in the doorway. He asked me for the pillow but I scrunched up my nose to make him back down.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Bull. I held the pillow out then, I rammed it down onto his back.
“WHAT THE FUCK!”

I think that did it. Bull sat up then saw it was me. “You little—”

I ran over to Dallas and Bear and stood behind them, looking over their shoulders at the hungover victim. Bull hopped out of the bed then gave me a death stare.

Bull twisted up his mouth. “Someone make me breakfast, I need to shower.”

“Anything else for our queen?” I said under my breath.

“I’d like your head on a stick. Your queen shall be clean.” Bull slammed the bathroom door and did his own little business.

By time Bear and Bull were done with breakfast and going about their day, Dallas and I were sitting in the bedroom and talking.
“…and it was really nasty,” I giggled. I just told him a story about the time my friend had cat pee in a cup and poured it in my backpack. (We were 15, don’t judge.)

He tossed his head back and started laughing. I pulled him down into a kiss, but I didn’t expect Dallas to stick his tongue into my mouth.
“Baby!” I giggled.

“I want to show you my love,” he laughed into my mouth.

I pushed him off. “Show your love in another way, but don’t choke me with your organ.”

“What the….” Dallas sighed and shook his head. “Choke you with my organ?”

“Tongue”—I stuck my tongue out—“organ.”

“Eris”—Dallas put his finger on my forehead—“weirdo.”

I blew him a kiss and Dallas kissed me for real. After the eternal kiss, he pulled back then said, “I have to go soon. And, I don’t want to start something we can’t finish.”

“Poop! Where do you have to go?” I replied`.

“Uh, Riva and Ripley, duh. And, I have to check on Hannah and Harley. Oh, and I have to go practice. And I have to—”

“That’s amazing, but I don’t care.”

Dallas pushed the side of my face as he got off of the bed. He reached into his closet, grabbed something then sighed. Dallas pulled out a deep blue shirt and grinned. “You might wanna close your eyes, I’m getting naked.”

“Oh, let me just open my eyes,” I laughed, turning to his body.

Dallas stripped his white shirt off then changed into the blue one. He tossed it over his shoulder, and into the hamper.
“Awh,” I pouted. “That wasn’t naked.”

“Close enough. Come on, I’m gonna walk ya back,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. Dallas wrapped his arm around my waist then nuzzled my hair.

“Ew,” I pushed him away but I was laughing. Dallas snapped his teeth at me. “Sorry, I don’t like people touching my hair.”

He looked down. Dallas hooked my neck in his elbow and (annoyingly) ruffled my hair like a relative would do to me. I had to reach down and grab his groin for him to stop.
“HEY!” Dallas laughed.

“Don’t touch.” I jumped on his back and started ruffling his hair. “Unless you want me to cut this off.”

“It’s beautiful, so don’t touch me!”

I dug my fingers into his thick hair then messed it up, but Dallas kept moving his head from my grip. We were walking down the hallway, so we probably looked very stupid. Dallas pulled me back to my feet and hooked his hand behind my neck to pull me close.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” he grinned.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I replied, running ahead to race him.

Dallas broke out running after me, and we made it to the dorms much faster than expected. I reached up then ran my fingers through his hair once more.
“Thank you for saving me from a terrible hangover,” Dallas chuckled.

“Anytime. And, thank you for touching my hair like a creep,” I smiled.

He kissed the top of my head and sent me on my way. Now, this circle: it’d be fairly easy to cast Tao—since she had one affinity to control. But me, that would be a bit different because I had never done all four. Hmm.

Heading into the kitchen for my brown pop, questions swarmed around in my head, but, I wasn’t that freaked out about the circle. Hell, I’d seen someone cast one, and call their powers, but any other time, it hadn’t really crossed my mind. I was still gonna do it. And, Tao had to call her own. She texted me earlier and said that she read some stuff in the library, so she somewhat knew what we were doing.

I walked upstairs to our room then saw Tao walking down from the other hall.
“Hey,” she called out.

“Hey.” I waited a few seconds for her to catch up. She looped her arm with mine and we continued walking. “So are you excited to cast this circle?”

“Actually, I am very excited. I told my mom, and, since she’s such a softy, she freaked out. But I told her that I was okay, and we were doing the circle tonight.”

“Oh, good. Well, it’s 6 right now… So, be ready at 9pm, and we’ll have enough time.”

Tao nodded and opened the door for us. I went straight to my nightstand then started searching around for my lavender batch that Nana gave me, and I needed the eucalyptus. They both smelled really good. And together, that’s like Jesus touched my nostrils. I grabbed my four candles, and Tao handed me hers.
“Thank you.” I put the candles together on my desk with a silver lighter.

Oh! I almost forgot about the candle Giovanni gave me! While I was getting the stuff together, Tao had taken the time to braid the lavender and eucalyptus together in one long strand.
“Heh, thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome. This smells amazing,” Tao replied.

“Imagine what it smells like burning.”

Tao smiled and handed me the braid. By time it was 9pm, we were gently putting the stuff in one of Tao’s bags so we could leave for Ria. 200.

When we found the circle to stop at, I looked at Tao and reached into the blue bag. I sat the candles and lavender against a tree then Tao drew a circle in the air with her cold hand.
“This is the circle,” she explained.

“Alright. So, these four trees”— I pointed to the four gigantic oaks—”will keep the barrier.”

“Kay.”

Tao and I decided for her to cast first, so we grabbed all the blue candles and put them North, East, South and West to create a perfect cross. I lit the lavender, then motioned for her to step into the middle of the circle. Clearing my throat, I stepped into the little opening and began:
“I call for Ice to join our circle, and give back the gelid powers to Tao…” I rotated around the entire circle, waving the burning strand through the air. Tao sat in the middle of the circle, with her eyes locked on all of my movements.

I lit the first candle and continued, “Ice for integrity, Tao doesn’t even have to try.”

Second candle. “To be creative, and not to lose our spark, Ice for Imagination.”

The third one seemed to glow brighter. “Ice for Importance.”

When I lit the fourth, I could feel it. The short jolt of energy that ran down my spine. But, it wasn’t a regular energy—it was chilly and made goosebumps appear on my skin. “Ice for Individuality because no one’s the same. I call Ice to this circle!”

I quickly left the circle and closed it back up with a rock. (For a beginner, I said that beautifully.) All of the candles’ lights whipped up, and grew in size until Tao looked like she had four lamps around her. There was an energy. A light blue, glowing energy that ran candle to candle and cast a light upon Tao’s body. She was pretty much glowing herself. But, Tao had her eyes closed, and it was obvious that she was taking deep breaths, to inhale the faint scent of lavender, and to be more connected to her powers. We read in the book that using a part of the affinity was important to the circle, so, I clutched my water bottle, and screwed open the top. There was just ice in here. I grabbed all of the little cubes, then threw them into the circle with Tao and I was shocked. Shocked by how the ice just attracted to her, like Tao had magnets in her hands. She clutched them in her palms, and I saw the glow from her back. Her Maxi. Tao’s black top gave me a good view of her upper back and the light blue icicles glew a dark blue, and I knew it was from the Ice. Damn, she looked so calm and relaxed.

The candles whipped out, and everything was still. No glowing Maxi. No energy connecting the candles. A relaxed Tao. The air was very chilly, and I had an idea why. She opened her eyes, then grinned at me.
“That was great. But it’s your turn.”

I weakly smiled and nodded.

Tao stood up, then fixed her long hair—the Ice and wind had made it a bit messy. She picked up the blue candles, and I placed the Elements in their spaces. Air was West, Fire was South, Water was East, and Earth was North. I had the purple candle in my hand as I stepped into the middle of the circle. Spirit was the center. Tao cleared her throat then smiled at me.
“Sit down, and relax,” she said.

I plopped down Indian-style then put the Spirit candle in between my legs. Here we go…. Tao relit the braid, then waved around the air.
“I call the Five Elements to join our circle, and bestow the importance of our powers upon Eris,” she gently said as she circled the space.

Tao finished purifying then walked to the Air candle.
“I call Air to this circle. We breathe it in our first breaths, so it is only right that it be the first Element called. Come to her, Air!”

Breezy.

Second candle was Fire.
“Fire warms us with its passionate flame. I call Fire to this circle!”

Hot.

She sauntered around to Water then grinned.
“Water is a perfect balance to flame, just as Eris is a perfect balance to soccer. I call Water to this circle!”

Cool.

Earth would be quadruple thee best.
“Earth supports us and nurtures us. As the fourth Element, I call Earth to this circle!”

Grass.

Quickly moving, Tao crossed over to me and nodded.
“It’s within all of us, important and soothing. I call Spirit to this circle.”

Relaxation.

I felt a jolt of energy run down my body, and I shut my eyes. The water…. air…. fire…. spirit…. earth.

My ears were filled with the crashing of waves against the beach shore.
It felt as if I was laying in the grass, with flowers and tall trees around me.
The warmth of a fireplace on a cold Christmas night made me happy and bubbly inside.
Wind was whipping through my hair, like the strongest tornado ever was approaching.
Mmm…. I was relaxed, and it felt like nothing mattered except for being calm, and alone.

Waves of power and relaxation rushed through my body, making me feel so…. Like everything was in place. I could feel the heat, the warmth of a blazing fire. I could feel the cool breeze softly blowing in the spring. I could feel water running down my body in the shower. And I could definitely feel cool, calm and collected emotions filling my brain. Inhale, exhale. In and out. Take and give. There was a fluttery feeling in my lower stomach. My Maxi was glowing. Gently placing my hand on my navel, I could feel how warm, and how powerful my Maxi was. Damn.

Before I could move again, my eyes shot open and I saw the energy. Whoa…. Red, blue, white, purple, and a green energy twirled together between the candles. It kinda startled me by how close the energy was to touching my body, there was no telling what could happen. Tao had tossed five sheer scarves into the circle: one to represent each Element. But, even touching the scarves, it made me radiant to feel the power charging through my body…. like my old self was back…. and it felt as if I had never lost the power. Though I’d been in the circle for a minor time, it was like an eternal event, that nothing compared to.

The energy slowly dispersed… leaving me alone in the circle. The candles whipped out, and we were left with soft scents of nature, and the melted wax. Tao glared at me.
“That felt like heaven,” I breathed.

“See? I know a thing or two about casting circles,” she giggled as she cleared up our supplies.

I stood up, grabbed my candles and broke the annulus we created with large rocks. The circle was cleared and gone, just the scent of lavender and eucalyptus remained in the silent air. Tao snatched her bag up then we headed back to the dorms. I felt relaxed. Calm. And I hadn’t felt this way in a looooooong time; my powers had been gone.
“Thanks,” Tao abruptly said. “That was completely amazing.”

“You’re very welcome. Yeah, I didn’t know what Spirit would feel like until then,” I responded.

“Hmph, I felt a bit of Water while I was in the circle…. Is that normal?” She gave me a confused look.

“Well, it is Ice and ice is just frozen, expanded water.” I paused. “It’s not your strength, but Water still exists within it.”

Tao nodded. It was 10:30pm, and I had to make a stop at the library, so I alerted Tao to proceed back to the dorms. When I entered the library, Zara waved me over to the front desk.
“Did you finish the book?” she smiled as bright as the sun.

“Zara, that book is well over one-thousand pages, I can’t finish four in one night,” I lightly chuckled. Zara was known for finishing books in less than two days.

“Well, you can always try. Haha, what are you looking for?”

“Uhm—”

I was cut off by a hand wrapping around my midriff. It was Dallas, and he winked down at me to show he meant no harm.
“Hi,” he sweetly smiled.

I shook it off then turned back to Zara. “Spirit, please. Tao and I cast our circles.”

Zara’s eyes went wide. “Really?! That’s great!”

Dallas hooked his finger in the waistband of my jeans and kept me against his body while Zara searched for the book. She handed me a book thicker than I could fully grasp.
“Keep this, too. Was all well?” Zara curiously asked.

“Great”— I shoved the book at Dallas. “I called Spirit, too, so it was way different! Tao said she felt Water when hers was called.”

“Ah, that’s good! Have you any idea when you’ll cast another?”

“No, but, I really wanna shoot for next month. But, I’m not so sure on a date for next month.”

Zara gave a single nod. She looked past me then said, “Dallas, have you cast your circle yet?”

“No, what am I gonna cast for?” Dallas raised an eyebrow.

“Mister, you could cast for anything. It may not be as important to your strength, but it’d be a good idea. Yellow candles would suit you.”

Dallas curled his lip up. “I don’t like yellow.”

“Why not purple?” Zara gave a smirk but Dallas rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Dallas. Purple would be nice.”

“Purple’s for girls,” he grumbled. “And, I’m not that feminine.”

“To me you are,” I smiled.

Zara waved us off while she laughed. “Get out of here. Eris, keep that if you need.”

We walked away and Dallas followed me out of the library. While walking, he switched hands and palmed my backside with his strong grip.
“Hey!”

Dallas gave me an innocent look. “Ass is class, hun.”

I rolled my eyes when he tried to kiss my cheek. Dallas hooked the side of my neck and planted a big kiss on my temple. I made an unattractive groan.
“You love me,” he whispered against my skin.

“Who says? I could be playing,” I grumbled, playfully pushing him off.

“Oh, don’t fib to yourself. So, how did the circle go?”

“AMAZING! I almost freaked out when it almost touched me!”

Dallas frowned. “What is the ‘it’?”

“Energy,” I smartly answered.

“Ah, that. How’d it go for Tao?”

“Great, she really liked it. And, to purify, we used the lavender Nana gave me for Christmas, and found some eucalyptus.”

“Huh, cool. Do me a favor: cast me a circle with red candles and tell me how it goes.” Dallas flashed his half smile.

“No, baby.” I pushed his arm. “You have to do it for yourself, tell me how it goes. I’ll even help you.” I smiled up into his regular blue eyes.

“But that’s too much wooooork.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and we continued walking. Dallas stopped in front of the glass doors of the dorms, then looked down at me. He handed the book over.
“Damn,” I huffed as it dropped into my arms.

“Do you want me to carry it up? You’re kinda weak, Avatar.” Avatar was his nickname for me because I controlled the Elements, but Air was my favorite. Dallas stuck his hands out for the book and I just kicked his leg. “Ow, what the sh—”

“Hah. What’s that you said to me that one day… Don’t be a smartass, it triggers others to be an even smarter ass. Now I’m gonna say something: Don’t be a smartass, it triggers people to kick you!”

Dallas rolled his eyes before claiming my mouth. He cupped my neck as he bent down… pulling me closer to his delicious lips. We were standing by one of the picnic tables, so I put the book down and reacted with my arms around his shoulders.
“God, I want sex,” Dallas moaned.

“Not appropriate,” I giggled, gently nibbling his lower lip.

Dallas stuck his tongue into my mouth and I let out a quiet moan. He cupped my ass, then effortly lifted me off of the ground. I could tell he had been drinking cold water because his tongue felt like ice in my mouth, but it was the type of feeling that made my tummy flutter, and my heart become more of his. I wrapped my legs around his waist and Dallas slid his hands under my shirt, cupping my breasts and working his hand under my bra. He managed to squeeze my nipples, which made me wetter and my moaning get louder.
“Come back with me,” Dallas said on my lips. He teased his tongue on the hoops in my ear, and I groaned his name in pleasure.

“I’m sorry. But, I gotta go,” I smiled.

Dallas kissed my ear and whispered, “Fine, I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye,” I smiled. He let me go and I walked up to my dorm.

Our hallway was pretty quiet, and Tao was laying down in her bed with a Sprite in her left hand. She looked up then nodded.
“Hey,” I wiggled my fingers.

“Hey. What’d you get at the library?” she asked. I handed her the Spirit book. “Oh, makes sense.”

“Yeah. What really makes sense is some sleep.”

I quickly showered, then came back out to lay down. Boing jumped onto my pillow and laid on my face. Her white fur got into my teal hair, and she decided to rest her tail on my neck.
“Can you move?” My voice was muffled by her body.

Eiee-ei-eeeie.

“Is that a no?”

Ei-ei-eeeeeeeeie!

Okay, that’s a no. By time Boing got back to bed, I was gasping for air and trying not to choke on her butt. I moved her to the side a bit then took the desired breaths. From across the room, Tao had her head propped up on her wrist while she watched me suffer.
“Damn,” I breathed.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re dying,” she giggled.

“Maybe I am.”

Tao laid down and Boing scooched her tush onto my shoulder. It took me a while to get over the fact that Boing had her ass all on me, but I eventually blacked out and fell into the world of my dreams.
====
Another great sleep, but terrible awakening. I was in the climax of my dream when my phone invaded. I was swimming in the middle of the ocean, with sharks circling around me, and I was following after a mermaid who looked exactly like my mother. The faint, muffled, distorted sound of the annoying tri-tone from my cellphone made me start to choke on water, and that’s when I woke up. I grabbed the device and saw who it was.
“Hey, Dad,” I sighed.

“Hello, are you still sleeping? You’re too young to sleep so late,” he replied. (Sounded a lot like my last dream.)

“Eh, yeah, what desires my attention?”

Before Dad could answer, I realized that Tao was on the phone with her mom. Lying down in the same position as me, and answering the same damn questions.
“Tao should be talking with Sumiko, but we need you two down at Ria. 42, we have something,” he explained.

“Okay.” We said our goodbyes then hung up.

I made my way blurrily to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water, trying to shock some awake into me. Tao walked in, then did the exact same thing. We brushed our teeth together, brushed our hair in the mirror and freshened up to leave.

Tao pulled on some low-rise jeans, with a crocheted top and her boots. I put on my shorts, a Nike tee shirt and wrapped my hair in a high ponytail. We quickly left the dorms and headed to our parents at the high school. Entering the front foyer, I could see Dad descending the right staircase from the upper-Professor floor.
“Hi, girls.” He bent down and kissed us both. “Upstairs.”

“Are we gonna be like, temporary Professors?” Tao muttered.

“Or guinea pigs,” I added.

“That second one,” Dad smiled. He opened the big glass door and we ducked under his arm into the hallway. Dad led us down the never-ending hallway, all the way to an open door where Chryseis, Sumiko and Professor Nolan were talking.
“Hello,” Tao and I half-stated, half-asked.

“Merry meet.” Chryseis bowed to us. “If you’re wondering why I’m here: it’s because I was the one to ask Nolan.”

“Oh, Chryseis, taking all the credit,” Sumiko laughed and winked at her.

“Hello, girls.” Professor Nolan crossed to us and shook our hands. He had dull yellow hair, with the brightest yellow eyes like a dragon. With an affinity for Reptiles, he had a Maxi on his neck that reminded me of scales, and I loved looking at it. “I know about your powers, and I think I can help,” he said.

Tao raised an eyebrow but I spoke first: “The thought ritual?”

“That’s it. It’s like a polygraph test, but, not all answers have to be verbal. I’ll be able to see your thoughts and words, it’s pretty fun to watch and fun to experience.” Nolan gave us a light smile. For a guy almost 6”10, he was like a cuddly giant. (Rian men were fucking tall, I had no idea why it was necessary.)

“Oh. Okay,” Tao and I dumbly said.

Nolan looked at our parents and Chryseis. “Er vew jiu zau quero?” They nodded and Nolan turned back to us. “Follow me.”

I directed Tao to the door and we followed Nolan out of the Professor hall. Very tall was all I could say to describe him. Anyway, he took us downstairs and through the halls toward the extra courtyard back there. Nolan pushed open the steel doors, and we were welcomed to an open concrete Yard—much bigger than our regular ones. I knew this place was used for rituals and whatnot.

“Sit on two sides,” Nolan said.

Tao went right; I went left (dominant hand). Nolan uncloaked a small table and I could see the stuff on the top: a candle, a knife and… I had no idea what that mason jar was for.

“Okay, girls. I wanna explain a few things before y’all freak. First, the candle is so I can recite the ritual, second, the knife is for blood, third, the jar is literally for catching important thoughts—” hold up, did he say catch our thoughts?! Nolan turned to me.

“Yes, I did, Eris.” (I knew the Professors could technically read minds—one of the reasons I was such a bad liar to Dad.) “Now, I’m gonna need a strand of hair from you two. Or, are your precious locks too important?” he grinned.

Tao plucked a small hair from her hair, I did the same. Nolan brought them to the table and smiled. “Now comes the blood. Arms or hands.”

I stuck my hand out and he pricked my finger; it stung, but the blade felt kinda good. Nolan dabbed the scarlet line with his own finger, then smeared it on his wrist. And the exact same with Tao. He stood behind the table once more, then began:
“Ner awq loh b’pina, sir fsut ca xixi munn,” Nalan pricked his own finger with the blade. “Dfe de dugn d’sance. Ca huj ecza Perlo!” Wow. I shivered and that was the last thing I remembered.

In what felt like two minutes later, I sat back up and looked directly at Tao. Before I could say anything, Nolan spoke, “Good to have you back, don’t say a word. Just think.”

I didn’t say anything. Tao looked at me and my mouth dropped…. her thoughts were floating around her in purple, blue and white.

Eris? Do you feel weird? Nolan, why does my head hurt? Damn, my head feels like shit. I need to talk.

She was looking back at me with the same expression. So I had thoughts, too?! Damn! Nolan cleared his throat and sat down between us.
“Girls, I want you to say one word a piece. See what happens,” he sighed.

“Hi,” Tao quickly replied. The word came out in a shimmery, sapphire blue fog.

“Eris.” The same fog appeared in front of me! Haha, this was fun!

“Okay, say four bad words. Cursing or a negative word,” Nolan said.

“Bad. Fuck. Lonely. Upset.” My words came out in a dull, dark silver fog.

“Good. Tao, say four things that are either happy or uplifting.” Nolan turned his eyes to her.

“Flowers. Ice. Dogs. Rainbows,” Tao’s words came out in a cute, fairy purple color. She smiled.

Nolan stood up then went back behind the table. “Since your powers are gone, we’re gonna use this to assist on getting them back. So, say or think anything you want, but, it has to be related to your power or any theories y’all have about them being missing. Get it, got it, good?”

“Get it, got it, good,” we repeated, admiring the blue fog. Nolan quickly sat the jar between our bodies then stepped back. I started thinking about how my powers got taken away, or how Tao’s did.

Two hours later, I was sitting in my bed and listening to music when there was a knock on the door.
“What?” I called out.

There were five rhythmic knocks—that was Giovanni. I quickly got up then swung the door open.
“Hey,” she signed.

I was shocked to see Dallas behind her.
“He wants to hang.” Giovanni exaggerated the signs then gave a sexual gesture.

“Oh so inappropriate,” I laughed.

She looked up at Dallas and he bowed to her.
“Thanks,” he said.

“Anytime.” (Giovanni could talk, but she liked to sign more.)

Dallas let her pass by then stepped into my dorm; he let out a wolf whistle. I hit his back.
“Grow up,” I grumbled.

“Damn, girl.” He pointed at the soccer posters above my bed, and the Fire/Water/Earth/Air ones by my closet. Dallas was gazing at the Hope Solo poster when Boing nuzzled his leg, making him jump back with a startled expression.

“Awh, you’re such a girl.” I bent down and picked up Boing. “It’s called a chinchilla: slightly bigger than a ground squirrel, and, her name is Boing. Hold her.” Dallas gently took Boing and she started exploring his neck area.

I had to change, so I yanked off my top and ran to the closet. Over the rows and rows of clothes, I just picked a basic white tee shirt then tossed my hair behind my shoulders. Dallas was sitting on my bed, laughing and playing with Boing while she scurried over the bedspread.
“Okay, we can go,” I announced.

Dallas looked at me. “Can we stay here?”

“Baby, you know you’re gonna be in a dorm… With 17 and 18 year old girls… Who like dicks… And you’re old…”

“I am not old, does it look like I have wrinkles? And, okay,” he chuckled. “But, can we bring this along?” Dallas waved at Boing like she was some grand prize.

I nodded and he sprang up with Boing in his left hand. Dallas waved to Mikey and Mumble then shut the door behind us. As we walked downstairs, I told him about Nolan performing the ritual on Tao and I.
“Hey, I want something to drink,” I said.

Dallas redirected me to the kitchen and I went to the fourth fridge. I could tell some of the girls were watching us talk; I felt their intense glares.
“Are you ready?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah, sure.” I took one last gulp of my brown pop then kicked the can into the recycling bin.

Dallas led me out of the glass doors and the cool breeze hit me. Very refreshing cool breeze. Since our pets could find us easily If they ever ran off, Dallas sat Boing onto the ground and she walked the other way as Dallas headed toward Ria. 200.
“So,” I asked, “what are we gonna be doing?”

“A walk,” Dallas replied.

“A walk? Since when do we go walking together? Is that like, some date?”

“No. It’s called I’m tired of not seeing the sun, so a walk.” He huffed out of his nose at me.

“Oh. Okay, walks are fun.” I smiled and tried to kiss his temple but Dallas pulled back.

He walked ahead then started running through the trees. I weaved around, and I saw him maneuver through the trees on my left.
“Dallas, it’s not funny,” I laughed.

“Then why are you laughing?” His sexy voice came from behind.

I stood still as he approached. “Because I can laugh at myself.”

Dallas snaked his arms around my midriff and pulled me back to him. He bent my head back, then kissed me good and hard.
“Hola,” I smiled up.

“Hey, Avatar. Come on,” he said as he let go of me. Dallas slipped his finger into the waistband of my shorts and kept me close while we walked further into the trees. Ten minutes into the walk, I slipped my hand under the hem of his tee shirt, and caressed his warm skin while Dallas attempted to push me off.
“Stop,” he grumbled.

“Why?” I purred, moving lower to his groin.

Dallas eventually pushed me off, so I walked with a big pout on, trying to make him give in.

He gave me a gigantic kiss when I noticed we had made it to the stream. The stream had two sides, and we were on the other side from where Aya started coughing and dying. But, this side had a massive hill behind us, and I could easily jump into the water. I was skipping rocks when I felt his hands on my shirt.
“Ah, what’re you—” the shirt came over my head. Dallas shoved my back.

“Get in,” he said.

“Baby, I don’t want to—”

He picked me up and I kicked my feet into the air, making my sandals fall to the grass. “Dallas! Stoppp!” Dallas brought me into the water and I gasped at how cold it felt on my warmed skin.

He put me on my feet but I was waving my arms around like an idiot at how gelid the water was. Dallas had his shirt off, and I was trying not to stare as I warmed up to the water.
“Have you ever been in here before?” Dallas asked, lightly pushing water on my stomach.

“No, but I’m guessing you have,” I replied.

Dallas nodded. “Come here, I wanna show you something.”

He took a few steps away into the water, but I hesitated before following. Dallas led me further downstream, until the water was just at the curve of my covered breasts. He went over to the wall then turned around to me.
“How long can you hold your breath?”

“1 minute, 23 seconds,” I replied. (Last time my friends took me swimming, we had a contest… And I was on the swim team for six years.)

“Okay. I’m gonna grab your hand, and you have to come under with me,” he explained. I nodded and Dallas grabbed my hand under the water. He dove under and I swam after him into a small, opening under the big rock wall. He popped up, so did I.

“Where the hell are we?” I panted, slicking my hair behind my shoulders.

“No one except for me and the Twins know this is here,” Dallas gently said.

The water came up to my shoulders, but Dallas had a bit of an advantage. He leaned back against the wall then looked at me. The space was big enough for probably two more people to fit in, the rock ceiling was about 7 feet up, and the water rushed into the walls.
“How do you know about this?” I asked.

“I used to come here all the time, when I still lived with the bitches,” he mumbled, looking around the water.

“Ya mean, Dayton and Dakota?”

He nodded. “I don’t come a lot, but, I make sure no one else finds it.” He smiled at me. “I guess you’re another person to know.”

“I guess,” I smiled back.

He crossed over to me and pushed me back against the cold stone, brushing his lips over mine and pressing flat against my body. (Thank God I was tall because I would probably be struggling to keep my head above the rushing water.) Dallas peered down at my bra; his lip curled into a smile.
“I’ll save you for later,” he said.

“Later? Psh,” I pushed the side of his face.

Dallas kissed my chest then whispered, “You taste good.”

I couldn’t say anything. His finger was trailing down my stomach, stopping to trace my Maxi and play with my navel. Dallas put his hand on my nape then started to kiss my neck, using his tongue to tease my skin.
“Baby… Mmm,” I moaned, running my fingers through his hair.

From the water, I could really feel how hard Dallas was—and how his dick was pushing into my lower stomach. I reached down, then softly massaged him through the fabric of his shorts. Before I could even wiggle into his boxers, Dallas stopped me.
“W-wait,” he said. I looked into his eyes (which were dark brown at the moment), and saw the lust in his soft pupils. “Follow me. I know somewhere.”

Dallas let his erection settle then led us out of the cave, and back out into the stream. He swam over to the shore and lifted himself out of the water, then turned around and helped me out.
“There’s a place up here,” Dallas said. He looked at the hill that had tall trees and grass and plants growing, then grabbed my hand so we could run. In a matter of minutes, Dallas had me at the top of the hill and kissing on my neck.

He cupped my ass, and ran his hand between my legs. I’d never imagined having sex outside, but with Dallas, I knew that it would be fun. He gently pushed me onto the ground then laid on top of me. Dallas grinded his hard on into me, putting his hand on the side of my neck to hold me still as he sucked and nipped on my racing pulse.
“Ahhh, babe… Ohh,” I panted, locking my legs on his back.

Dallas pulled back a bit and, with the gentlest touch, he unhooked my bra and pushed it off my shoulders to let my bobbs spill out. He didn’t pay much attention to my breasts before moving down my stomach to give my Maxi open mouthed kisses. He used his tongue to trace a pattern around my navel, with my hands on either side of his head and my hips grinding on his mouth.

One thing I’d never seen on Dallas before last week was his tattoo. Not his Maxi, but when he was 18, he got a tattoo of a horseshoe behind his left ear. Dallas usually cloaked it so no one saw, but he must’ve forgotten that day. And hell, I liked a guy with ink.

I lifted my ass a bit, and Dallas eased my shorts down my legs then threw them to the side. My already soaking wet pussy was heated and leaking with my juices for him; Dallas teased by rubbing me through my panties.
“Mmm,” I quietly panted, biting my lip and tilting my head back.

He dug his fingers into me a bit, and I almost freaked from how good it felt. A good two minutes into doing that, Dallas eased my panties to the side and played with my clit, lightly tapping and rubbing me. He snatched my panties down in one grab, then rubbed his thumb over my damp folds. I was gonna say something, all until he was pushing his finger a few centimeters into my me and wiggled around.

My mouth was open, but there was no sound. Dallas started massaging my tit in one hand, while he teased me with the other. As he grazed and maneuvered around all my damp pussy and aching flesh I went a little crazy; I arched my back high and moaned his name aloud. His fingertips forced into my pussy, but Dallas would pull back out then rub my thighs. He worked my boob in circles, pinching and playing with my nipples every few seconds or so. Dallas waited… he paused… stopped moving. Then it happened.

His finger pushed all the way into me, and I gasped at the sudden feeling, and he squeezed my chest again. Dallas had his middle finger pumping into me, to make me feel just right and just turned on. But, his hand was massaging me like never before; with a strong grip and his finger toying with my nipple. Dallas added another finger, then that was all I needed to start moaning and screaming again.
“Aghhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhh!”

If someone heard us, it was highly unlikely that they’d find us, because the place was completely concealed by trees. Dallas let out a moan with me when my pussy contracted, and he added another finger. Damn. His hand was vigorously squeezing and touching my breast, and honestly, I needed to touch myself too. I moved my hand down to my clit, and I rubbed myself harder as his fingers rapidly pumped into me. To have Dallas fingering me…. massaging my breasts…. and making me feel so, empowered. Dallas always touched me how he wanted, but he knew what made me hot (I mean, he did take my virginity and he taught me what he liked). As his fingers curled inside of me, I was moaning and exploring my body just as he was.

I placed my hand atop his, and squeezed and caressed my breasts. And hell, this felt good! Especially how Dallas was touching me. While he touched me, Dallas kissed on my stomach and played with my Maxi; his tongue trailed up the ink and to the curve of my breasts. He teased by lightly kissing on my areola, then moving back down.
“Dallas,” I half-panted, half-laughed.

He didn’t answer or react. Dallas pulled his fingers from inside of me and I opened my mouth to protest, but Dallas started kissing my inner thighs. He got closer and closer to my awaiting sex, but Dallas was trying his hardest not to touch, shit, he was teasing too much! And it felt kinda good…. I put my hands in his almost-white hair and forced him closer to my pussy. Dallas reached under me then pinched my outer thigh to make me stop.
“Mmm, please,” I begged. Dallas continued his torturous kisses on my legs. All while this torture was going on, Dallas’ cock was probably aching him to be freed; he’d been hard for a while. With a quick swoop of my leg, I pinned Dallas onto his back and bent down to his waist. Pushing my hair to the side so he could have a better view, I undid his jeans (being careful not to hurt the vital parts of his anatomy) and released the prize I’d been waiting for.

I kept my eyes locked on his as I took a long, teasing lick at his shaft. Dallas tossed his head back then let out a groan; I was getting him riled up… His eyes drew back to mine and I teased the tip with a big kiss. Okay, I knew Dallas hated teasing, and I deliberately looked at him with a sexy gleam in my eyes, and kept him waiting for me to suck him dry. He balled a fist in my hair as I swirled my tongue down his length. I was getting tired of the teasing as much as he, so I wrapped my hand around his thick cock and took him into my mouth. Dallas caressed my hair, and I could feel his body detense.

I used my tongue to lick the underside while my lips devoured more and more of him, all while pumping my fist after my mouth. I started to bob my head, and Dallas moaned to imply his satisfaction.
“Stop,” he firmly said. I wasn’t expecting that, but I lifted my eyes to his and sucked more.

Dallas tightened his grip in my hair then pulled me away from his cock. Fuck. I climbed up his body, straddled his hips and looked into his flaming blue eyes. As I sank down onto his hard shaft, we both let out different curse words, and I planted my hands flat on his chest. My hips slowly rocked on him, but Dallas was thinking something different; he grabbed my hips and starting ramming into me.
“Ughhhh, Dallas! Fuck, I’m cumming!”

Wow, was I that easy with him? Well, Dallas did get me close when he fingered me, and that blowjob had me on edge.

As my orgasm hit, I didn’t want to sound like I was dying, so I clamped my hand down over my mouth to stifle my reaction as the world kaleidoscoped into brilliant color in every direction. Dallas grabbed my hands and I had to scream out. He must’ve been getting close because Dallas slammed into me harder. So hard that I had to grip the grass beneath us to keep from falling. I scoochied a bit higher, so Dallas started licking and playing with my boobs.

Dallas used his teeth to lightly nibble on me, and his tongue to trace my areola. My hair was falling over my arm, but Dallas’ tongue was killing me; rolling and teasing and flicking my nipple.
His hands firmly squeezed my midriff as he moaned out his orgasm. And I was reaching another. In less than three seconds, I was yelling his name all while announcing my climax, and his cum shot high inside of my womb.

My chest was flat against his; I could barely breathe as I rode wave after wave of passion and lust and relaxation running out of my body. He caught his breath and said, “That’s another thing off my bucket list: have an amazing orgasm outside.”

I hit his chest before saying, “Shush. Hurry, we need to go and get our other stuff.”

I craned my neck, then reached over Dallas’ waist and grabbed my panties. He was trying not to stare while I slid them on, but it was kinda obvious to see his green eyes cutting into my body.
“Dallas, are you staring?” I said over my shoulder.

“Just a little, but, it’s no big deal.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

I quickly stepped into my shorts and pulled on my bra then turned around to him. He finished pulling his jeans back on then jerked his head toward the trees. Dallas led the way back down the hill, keeping his fingers interlock with mine. We stopped at the end of the grassy area.
“Walk or swim?” Dallas asked.

“Swim.” If anything, I was not going to walk over taking a nice dip.

“Since you say so…” Dallas pushed me into the cold water (it felt especially cold since I was raw from the sex).

I clenched my teeth then let out a hiss. “Get in, I can’t take all the suffering,” I said.

Dallas took his sweet time getting back into the water, obviously attempting to make me suffer even more. After he was in, I quickly dove under then swam the other way with him behind me. In five short minutes, we were where we first came in, and I could see our loose clothing articles. Dallas tossed my shirt to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I yanked it down over my head. We stepped into our shoes and shook our wet bodies (I was more like a cat; Dallas was a dog).

“Come on.” He jerked his hand out to me and I proceeded by wrapping my arm under his. Dallas smelt good. Really good. And his hair was still wet from the water, and it made him look younger. No matter how sexy and mountainous Dallas was, he always reminded me of a little kid; he just had this little spark. Especially that dimple in his right cheek; it made his smile brighter and younger. As we walked, he started a conversation:
“What are you doing later?”

I thought for a second. “Nothing really, probably watch a movie.”

“Hm. Okay,” Dallas flatly said. (If someone asks a question like that, shouldn’t they offer to hang out?) I was thinking about my question when Dallas asked, “Do you want to come over?”

“I’d love to.” I grinned but he just rolled his eyes. “When did you ever become so generous?”

Dallas gave my butt a hard smack (he was really an ass guy). He broke from my embrace, then turned around to me and walked backwards.
“I’ve been generous all my life. I just don’t need any help,” Dallas smirked.

“Oh, please. You’re as generous as a rock,” I laughed, trying to throw him off—which I did.

“A rock? How don’t you know that rocks are really nice, they just don’t like you?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly. We don’t know if you’re actually nice, we just know that you’re a smartass.”

Dallas rolled his eyes and we continued walking.
====
Tao ran her cold fingers through my hair. “What the hell?!” I whispered.
“It was messed up,” she mouthed.

It was Monday, and we were sitting in Riate, listening to Brice talk about someone’s mom. The classrooms were all designed like the ones in college: a bunch of stairs, a gigantic-ass row of seats. And, we always sat in the last row back. Tao kicked her feet onto the desk and I gave her a sharp look; she pulled them down.

After Riate, the rest of the day zoomed by, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the library with all five of my books open on the table. In Spirit, I was reading about how it’s almost like a natural high when I cast a circle. Air was telling me about the power to “mist” myself—when I think about being invisible, and I pretty much become invisible. The thing that shocked me the most was what the back said:

Any and all of the Elements together will give one eternal powers…. Tusnced.

It said it was in another book! I trotted off to the front desk then smiled at Zara.
“Yes, darling?” she nonchalantly said. Her nose was in another book.

“Okay, uhm, I need a book. And, I think it is called Tusnced, for all of the powers,” I beamed. Another power would be so cool.

“Oh!” Zara tossed her book to the side and stood up. “Follow me, I’ll show you.” She waved a hand out and I followed her to the back room.

Bookshelves was all I saw. Dizam. I knew there were more books, but gosh! And Zara had read every single one—cover to cover! She walked me to a far bookshelf then sauntered down the narrow aisle. Zara stopped in front of frivehugic-thick books and seized them from the shelf.

“Tusnced, Reaxced, Quacvced, Fzaesced and Lopced. I highly suggest you finish these soon, they’ll be much help to you. I know you’re a bit troubled with non-existent powers, but, they’ll always come back. Here,” she smiled.

I thought I was holding a live human. “Thank you,” I weakly smiled. “Now, I’m gonna leave before I die of muscle strain.”

Zara chuckled as I quickly left the back room. Kicking the door closed behind me, I headed back to my work area, and I saw Dad down the bookshelf aisle. He was searching for something particular. I sat the books down then ran down to him.
“Hi.” I smiled.

Dad glanced at me. “Hello, Eris. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be finishing homework—”

“Finished. Now I’m studying.”

“Oh, ok. Well, you’re a bookworm, so, what are you studying? It has to be something interesting,” Dad smiled. His green eyes sparkled at me.

“My powers. Ya remember how Tao and I cast the circles? Well, I added Spirit, and, now I’m curious and reading the books Zara gave me. Oh, there’s another power that has to do with them, but that comes when I’m older.”

Dad nodded as he grabbed a book. “Hmph, that’s good.” He grinned at me. “Did you tell Nolan happy birthday?”

“32 and counting, though he looks 18,” I winked up at Dad.

“Eris, you must be attracted to older men.”

My eyes got wide, but Dad kept his gaze light-hearted, and I could see he was trying to hide a smile. “Dad! Not appropriate,” I scoffed, playfully punching his arm.

“You’re right, that wasn’t nice. Well, do you remember my 22-year rule?” he asked.

“OhmyGod, Dad. Please stop.” I cradled my face in my hands. I took a deep breath then answered, “No babies, or cutting my hair until I’m 22.”

Dad patted my shoulder. “Bingo. Now, I have to go and meet with a Prof. Bye, kiddo.” He kissed my cheek and left.

Damn, I really hated his rules. No, let me reword that: that rule got annoying. Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna have any baby-Daddy-drama for sure, I did not want that type of life. And, I liked my hair like this. Thinking about how I’d appear with short hair, I walked back to my table and got back to the books. Hell, these four new books would take twice as long to read; I was estimating a mere 2,000 pages—long-ass pages–full of Riate terms. But, it still had some english. Twenty or so minutes into reading Reaxced, my phone buzzed loudly on the glass table.
Dallas: Where r u?

I snatched up my phone and replied.

Me: Not with u.
Dallas: Answr me
Me: Library
Dallas: good. I’ll b there

(Sigh) And, here comes Dallas. I replied then sat my phone back onto the table, continuing on my page. A few minutes later, there was a hand covering my eyes and a sexy humming over my head.
“Dallas…” I irritably said.

“Hello,” he replied, bending down and kissing my lips.

Dallas released me then went to the chair diagonally from me. I gave a fake smile and continued reading.
“May I ask what you’re reading?” he asked.

“No,” I flatly replied.

“That’s cool.” Dallas swiped a book from the table and started reading. “Why—”

“Ya know,” I interrupted, “for a man who doesn’t go to school, you sure as hell like to come to the library… and annoy me.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Eris. You make me proud, but, I wanted to know why you’re reading these. These have nothing to do with your strength.”

“Katniss, I didn’t ask for your input.”

“No, I was an archer before Katniss made it cool. But, would that make you my Peeta?”

“Yeah, I’m the one who choked you,” I grumbled.

Dallas bit his lip and shut up. But, he started humming soon after… his leg was going a million miles… and he was talking a lot… and his energy was through the roof…
“Are you okay?” I asked.

His blue eyes shot up. “Yeah, I’m just bored,” Dallas sighed.

“Well, go home and play with the sisters.”

“Govea got back late last night, and, Hannah and Harley don’t like me.” He laughed at himself.

“Oh, sorry. Well—” I sat up straight and put the book back on the table—“you could help me with these books. And, I think you should get an idea to cast your own circle soon.”

“Hell no, Eris. What do I need to cast circle for?”

“Uhm, for a lot of shit. You could rid yourself of smartass, you could be more connected to Archery, or, you could even get Hannah and Harley to be your friends!”

Dallas crossed over to my seat and switched places with me. He sat me in his lap then wrapped his arm around my backside. “Okay,” Dallas sighed. “Read, I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you! And, I’ll go get a book for you,” I squealed, hopping out of his lap and running back to the front desk.

Zara looked up at me as I asked for the book. She handed me a thick book called Lyacve, then I hurried back to Dallas. He had his face in my book, with his forearms resting on his knees. Dallas glanced up. “Got it?”

“Yup, but take it before I die,” I said, passing the large tome to him.

Dallas read a few pages then his eyes got wide as he looked me dead in the eye. “Did you know that I could bless a bow? I did not know that!”

“See? Perks of having an amazing Eris as your girlfriend.” I put my hands beneath my chin and sweetly smiled.

Dallas stuck his tongue out then continued reading.

Two hours later, we were still in the library, reading and noting some enthralling stuff in our books. Hell, I didn’t know that Dallas could read so fast; he made me feel slow. He had two of his own Archery books on the table, and I had mine on my side. I checked my watch: 7:32, so I had a bit of time before curfew. The good thing was that the library wasn’t all that crowded, and I liked the quiet air—except for Zara ruffling around papers a bookshelf behind us. Wait, what?
“Zara?” I called out.

“I’m just checking,” she called back.

“No, we’re not making out,” Dallas added, smiling at me.

I bit my lip then curled up with my book. Honestly, I had no idea that Dallas liked reading; he barely talked while he was focused on the text. Directly at 8:00, we closed our books at the same time.
“Don’t copy me,” I smirked, setting the book on the table.

“I’ll try to more often. So, did you eat?” he asked.

“No. Are you asking to buy me food?” I grabbed my chest and made my mouth a perfect o. “Nooooooo.”

Dallas mimicked me in his cute way. “Yes.”

I smiled then nodded. “I’d love to eat with you. Are you gonna take them books home?”

“Those, proper grammar.” Dallas made a face. “Yeah, come on.”

“Yeah isn’t a word. It’s yes.”

He curled his lip as we gathered our stuff. I had my cross-over bag with me, so I stuffed my books into it and Dallas carried his under his arm. (We would come off as a nerdy couple.) We said goodbye to Zara, but she was in the back room. Her head popped out.
“Bye, you two. Keep those if you need,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” Dallas replied, stepping through the door with me. We went to the cafe, grabbed some late dinner and talked for a bit before it was 9pm. Dallas walked me back to the dorms, then stopped to sit me down.
“I have to go somewhere soon,” he gently said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Louisiana. My cousin wants to see me, and, hunting. So, I just wanted to tell you before Wednesday—when I leave.”

I rolled my lips in and out. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you when you get back, ” I looked into his brown eyes.

“Yeah—Wait!” Dallas’ outburst scared me a bit. “Go upstairs, change, grab whatever, you’re staying at my place.”

“O-okay, but you didn’t have to scream.” I flicked his head and Dallas smiled. “Give me 10 minutes, and I swear I’ll be back.”

Dallas stood up. “Even better, I’ll head down for you. Hurry up.” He walked the other way and I darted inside.

Five minutes was all I was giving myself to change, grab clothes for tomorrow morning, and put my stuff away. Tao was in her bed, listening to Kenny and on her cellphone. She went bug-eyed when I started removing my clothes and running around.
“What are you doing?”

“Dallas,” I yelled from the closet.

Tao snickered. “Okay. And, don’t be late in the morning or anything. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”

“Got it. Do you have my Domo Kun hoodie?” (We were geeks.)

Tao tossed it from under her bed. I had on a pair of Nike track shorts, with a black tanktop and my hoodie zipped over it, and I had managed to tie my hair into a messy knot. Hell, it was nighttime, it was time to get lazy and not care. Anyway, I grabbed my bag and waved to Tao.
“Have fun.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

I quickly shut the door then sprinted down the hallway. Sneaking out was fairly easy, few to none of the Professors walked around campus at night, and the dorms were close enough to stay hidden in the shadows. But, the only thing stopping me were the Sons of Erebus. I guess Brice and Lena had called them in for something; which meant I couldn’t pass by the mansion (though the mansion was 6 miles out from any other building. But the Sons knew how to cover ground). Lucky me, I had a shortcut through Ria. 200—there was a tree that was struck by lightning a few years back, and the split bark leaned closer toward the apartments. So I ran through the tall oaks until I saw it, then threw my bag over.

Hopping through the tree was easy—not cutting my leg wasn’t.
“Shit!”

Ugh, it really sucked being such a klutz. Anywho, I snatched up my bag then ran to the apartment building. (Aya had told me about the tree.) Knocking on Dallas’ door, I heard something. From next door…. I was about to step over to Bear’s door but Dallas yanked me into the foyer.
“Agh!” I unattractively exclaimed.

“Shush!” Dallas hissed.

I shut up and waited… He roughly pulled me into the bedroom then told me to sit still. I placed my bag on the hook. Dallas reached behind the bed and pushed it to the side a bit.
“Come here. Silently,” he whispered.

I went there. Silently.

He was pressed against my back as we listened through the wall.
“Maybe it was—”

“Shut up! You’re an immature idiot, and you treat everything like a game! You and your brother have no respect for yourselves nor others, and it is very stressing to have one eye on two 21 year-old kids, and the other on others!”

That. Was. Harsh. The first voice had been Bear, and the second to interrupt him was Lena. At least I knew she wasn’t meeting with the Sons.

“Okay,” this was Bull. “Lena, can we please talk to our—”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t care for Chryseis, nor you two. Since when is it rational to eliminate two dragons? Or six gargoyles? It is quite a shame that I can’t come back to campus with a good report; there will always be a set of Twins to piss me off. I hope that we’ll not have this problem again, because there will be extreme consequences.” She slammed a door and departed. (Is this her way of a grand homecoming?)

Two seconds later, Dallas’ front door opened and in came a storm. Bull and Bear weren’t fazed by it, but they weren’t quiet about it, either.
“Bullshit,” Bear grumbled.

“For once in my life, I want to rip someone’s throat out and stomp on them to death,” Bull added.

Dallas stood up. “What does she think you did?”

“2 dragons—”

“—6 gargoyles—”

“—and, stole a sword from Professor Hyllus.”

I barely listened after that. Two dragons, six gargoyles, and even stole something? Hey, Bear might be evil, but he and his brother would never think to do something like that. This was utter and complete bullshit. So much bullshit that I couldn’t even imagine how Chryseis would take it—she’d probably yell or stab them. (Kidding!) Did Brice know about this? Is that why he asked me for Bear late last week? And, when dragons & gargoyles are killed, or when something is stolen, the Professors and Warriors stop at nothing to find out who did it. Damn. Just to think, Lena hasn’t blamed it on anyone except Dallas and the Twins—could there be a reason? Come to think of it, the last time something like this happened, it was a stupid Sio (Junior) who did it. But, she and Brice found out that the girl didn’t know she’d killed the dragon, so they forgave her. It sure as hell wasn’t the same for Dallas or the Twins—Lena just jumped to some silly conclusion to make it them. I mean, I get that they’re older, but, really? And, Lena has been trying to rip my throat out for dating Dallas, and it’s not like I did anything! Right? And, Brice was never the one to alert them! Cruel. That bitch was just cruel. I knew that it wasn’t a coincidence anymore, but Lena was trying to do this. Oh, and why not have it happen when Eris’s best friend loses her powers and they have to cast a circle so their brains don’t explode? WELL, HELL!

“Eris.” I looked up to Bull’s sweet smile. “Two things: do you want me to fix your legs, and, you do know we can hear everything you just thought?”

I nodded and made a face before coming to the edge of the bed. Bull waved his hand over my leg, and once again, I had the warm feeling of doves fluttering around in my stomach. He pulled back and I was fixed up.
“Thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, Domo,” Bull solemnly said.

“Don’t call me Domo, Domo.”

“Don’t you mean homo??” he replied.

“Derogatory term,” I chuckled, following them out of the bedroom.

“Look,” Bear sighed, “Bitch Monster Lena is trying to chew our asses out, especially me. So, Eris, can you use that little, Air power you have to kill her?”

We all sat on the couch and the chairs.

“No,” I answered. “One, I don’t have my powers back. Two, that would only be possible if I was in a circle, then I could help. Three, ask your mom what she thinks. Mothers always have the best perspective—mostly. But, ask her if she thinks you did it. If she says something like, ‘That’s not the point, my point is…,’ then don’t let her talk.”

“And, ask other Professors. They know more than us, so, Lena probably has some secret committee to hate on y’all,” Dallas added.

Bull nodded. “You’re right. Plus, the Sons of Alke, and the Sons of Erebus have been around lately–and they are so hot–so, maybe those dragons and gargoyles being killed is an even bigger deal.”

“I guess.” Bear stood up after his brother. “Eris, get to school on time, we have to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, brother,” I giggled, cuddling up on Dallas’ side.

“And you—” Bull directed his eyes to Dallas “—don’t sleep in. We have to do a bit more tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Dallas said, wrapping his arm around me.

The Twins exited the door then softly pulled it closed. Dallas let out a deep breath.
“Do you think she has a legitimate reason?” I blurted.

“Of course not. Nor does she have the right to say something like that,” he replied. I cupped the side of his neck and Dallas put his hand on my lower back. We sat for a while, then he carried me to the bedroom and tossed me into the bed. Before I could even pull the covers back, Harley and Hannah swopped into the room, with their impressive wings keeping them aloft.
“You two, out,” Dallas barked at them.

Hannah landed on the dresser and cawed at him, Harley got in the chair.

“Xan hsuvo liud nuuw,” Dallas firmly repeated.

They finally got the message then flew out the window and to wherever. Dallas shut the window and looked over at me. I yanked off my Domo hoodie then tossed it to the chair.
“Cute,” he said as he crawled under the covers with me.

“Uhm, shouldn’t you get into your pajamas?” I asked.

“It’s naked or everything, there’s no in between.”

“We can do naked.”

Dallas lightly hit me with a pillow.”Get to sleep before I suffocate you with this,” he joked.

I grabbed another pillow and hit him even harder, but Dallas put his hand on my arm. He pulled me into his tight embrace, hugging me down against the pillow.
“Dallas! I’m gonna die,” I giggled.

“Don’t die, go to bed,” Dallas responded. He pushed into me from behind and laid on his back. I stayed on my stomach, cradling the pillow to my chest.
“Goodnight, Eris.”

“I love you.”

I’m pretty sure that I went to bed before him, because I was out in two seconds.
====
Sahmi was talking about our powers and bodies as we got older. He asked a question,
“What are the three main body types?”

No one raised their hand. Wait… For real?! I raised my hand and Sahmi directed his gaze to me.
“Ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph,” I answered.

“Good. Wanna describe the differences?” Sahmi gave me a secret wink.

“Well, Ectomorphs are lanky, not a lot of body fat, and lean muscles. Mesomorph is medium, ya know, tall and athletic. And, Endomorph is kinda bulky, curvy or even just rounder.”

Most of Rian kids had been in Rianate all their lives, and even the smallest things were so easy to forget, since there were different ways to live here. But, hell, I had almost forgotten them, so, I couldn’t really talk.

Sahmi nodded. “So, you should be able to tell what type you are, all of our bodies are pretty much done growing. And…”

“How did you know that?” Tao whispered to me.

I turned to my left and met her icy eyes. “Magic.” She flipped me off and we continued listening to Sahmi.

After Riate and lunch, then came Art—and it seemed like Verc was in a good mood. But, we honestly never knew with her. She assigned us a project: an abstract painting, using only the colors yellow and blue. With a partner.

Tao spilled some blue paint into our little jar, while I mixed the yellow into hers. We were mixing and talking and preparing to paint when Verc announced something.
“This is a challenge for anyone who wants it: use wax on the canvas. See how that works.”

Wax? Oh! Once, I melted crayons on the lamp at home and the wax got everywhere, but it still came out pretty! I leaned over to Tao.
“Hey, crayons,” I whispered.

“Crayons? Hun, we’re not five,” she quietly chuckled.

“The wax. We can ask Verc for a candle or blow dryer.”

Tao stopped and thought… Her face was priceless. “Yes! Come on, let’s ask.”

We hurried over to Verc’s desk then smiled (we had to be suck-ups for the moment). She looked up with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, girls?”

“Okay, two things: do you have crayons and, a candle or blow dryer?” Tao asked.

“Yes. Is that gonna be your wax?”

“Mmhmm, blue and yellow crayons,” I added.

She stood up. Verc led us to one of the six closets lined on the back wall, and opened the door. Whoa. Who knew there were so many crayon colors?!

Tao chose three dark blues, and four bright yellows; I grabbed two light blues and a golden yellow. Verc shut the door then pointed to another one.
“There are candles, but no blow dryers,” she said.

“Thank you,” we smiled.

I told Tao to get situated at the canvas, and I was to grab the candles. Two people means two candles. Whoa again. In rainbow order, Verc had over 30 candles on the six shelves, and they ranged from short and stubby to talk and skinny. The skinny blue one caught my eye, so I reached in and grabbed it. There was also a skinny yellow one. (Way to follow through with the color.)

I walked back to Tao and nodded. Before Verc had announced the wax, we had smudged blue and yellow shades onto the canvas to rid of any white spots. And Tao had lined the peeled crayons on the top of the canvas, so when the wax melted, it dripped down over the paint.
“Okay.” I smiled then lit the candles. “You’re any color you want.”

“Thanks,” Tao said as she grabbed the blue candle. We barely even had to touch the flame to the crayons for them to start melting blue and yellow wax.

Art was really good (we weren’t done with our wax painting), and Math was just the same. After Math, Dallas texted me to come to his place so we could hang out once more before he left. Alright. I skipped Affinity Hour (like I had been doing for a month) then walked down to Ria. 24.

I walked in through Dallas’ door and heard how annoyed he was.
“Harley, I will be happy to deep fry you,” Dallas groaned.

Harley “yelled” back at him.

“I’m older! What are you gonna do about it, run off to Hannah?!”

Caaaaaaaghhw.

“It’s not gonna be funny when you’re on a plate… And all of your precious little feathers are plucked off from your body… And some weirdo in Kansas wants to eat you for dinner!”

I was standing in the doorway of the bow room, listening and watching them argue. Harley was trying to touch the bow Dallas was holding, but Dallas kept swatting his talon. He literally looked like a little kid trying to touch the water with his toe, but he didn’t know if it was warm or cold.
“Stop it, Harley!” Dallas exclaimed.

Caweeeeeagh.

“You eat vulture vomit!”

Cagghhhhhhh.

Harley flew up and practically screamed at Dallas. They reminded me of dysfunctional brothers: always arguing, hate each other, hurt each other, but they did everything together. Dallas put the bow back, Harley mimicked him by moving his gigantic wings out. Dallas turned around and waved at me, Harley turned his neck and lifted a wing at me.
“Vulture vomit?” I grimaced.

“Yeah, it is disgusting.” Dallas kissed my nose. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, kinda mad that you have to leave.”

“Sorry. But, a week without Harley is heaven.”

Harley made a grunting sound then flew out of the room. He really hated Dallas.
“So,” I said, “what are you doing?”

“Choosing one to take,” he answered.

“Hmm. Pick a color: red or black?”

Dallas thought for a second. “Red.”

I grabbed his bow with red bolts. Dallas made a “duh” sound as he took them.
“Thanks, that was easier than I thought,” he smiled.

“No need to thank me. Just worship me,” I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Dallas gave me a big kiss and squeezed my ass in his large hand. I broke away.
“Have you seen my hoodie? I think I left it,” I said.

“I dunno.” Dallas pulled away and walked out to the living room. “With Harley and Hannah, anything they find is automatically theirs. So, don’t count on finding it.”

“Eh, whatever. Can I—”

“Eris, you’ve asked enough questions. Shzhh.” Dallas waved his hands in my face.

“Well, gosh. Anywho, I was asking to ask you a question. So, may I ask another question so I can stop asking questions and we’ll be question-free?”

“What do you possibly want,” he flatly sighed.

I smiled. “Wait, so I can ask the question?”

“Eris!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But, I was just asking if you seriously want to cast a circle. Ya know, I’ve got this shit down. And, I think I’m casting one next month, or, whenever I have some free-time.”

“Well,” Dallas said, “that’s great, but, I don’t need one. Why can’t I just watch you?” He grinned, looking like a handsome little boy.

“No, Dallas. Do you know how awkward it is to have some idiot staring you down while you’re trying to concentrate?”

“Just block me out.”

I looked him dead in the eyes, and Dallas stared back harder. He hit my arm and I blinked.
“Damnit!”

“Haha,” Dallas smirked, poking my shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” I frowned.

He kissed my forehead then sat back on the couch. I wrapped my arms around his neck as Dallas cut on the tv; he rested a warm hand on my thigh. As I adjusted my body on the cushion, I reached behind my back and grabbed the pen that was secured on my belt loop. I had been drawing on my hand in Math, but I forgot to take the pen off. I hovered over my hand and finished the doodle I had started. I covered the entire back of my hand with a detailed drawing of a sacred heart; it was a design I’d been sketching since I was eleven. It had flames dancing up the back, a crown of thorns on top of it, a spray of roses along the bottom, and in the center I drew a scrolling banner with my name in the center. Dallas peaked over and seized my hand.
“Wow, that’s good. Nice,” he frowned in approval.

I bit my lip. “That’s not even half of what I started in class.” I rolled my sleeve up and Dallas chuckled.

“You should be a tattoo artist; you have a lot of creativity buried inside of you.”

“That’s actually my dream job.” I smiled and Dallas stroked my bare thigh. His hand went higher up, up until I gasped at his warm touch by my covered sex.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop here,” Dallas chuckled. He brought his hand back down and I sighed. That sigh made the rest of my body realize how tired I was, so I sprawled out on his chest and Dallas put his hand on my hip.

“Good afternoon,” I yawned.

“Good afternoon, Avatar,” he laughed.

My eyes shut on instinct, and I only paid attention to the beat of Dallas’ heart. Bum… bum… bum… bum… zzzzzzz.
====
END OF PART 5
I ended the story with Eris sleeping because I didn’t want to blow your brains out with boring shit. This part isn’t all that important, and I didn’t just want to bullshit it. Part 6 will definitely be up tomorrow night.

-L11

---

The clock was ticking at the same beat of my fingers tapping on the desktop. Tick, tock, Eris. Tip, Tap, Eris. You’re gonna ace this test—hopefully. And right now was one of those times that I knew I was gonna massacre. Easy stuff, we learned the majority of it that month, so, it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Okay,” Nanaya announced. “You all may begin.”

Eris Faye was the first thing I scribbled down. Tao tapped me on my hand and I looked over to see her icy blue eyes all confused. I wrote down the answer to number one; she hit herself on the forehead, mouthing, “Duh.” For a five-page test, it was fairly easy to finish in less than 90 minutes and have on Nanaya’s desk.

After History was over, Tao raced down with me to Body Science so we could ask Sahmi about our next quiz. When we got in, Sahmi was sitting on top of the desk, with a pencil floating in front of his face. His affinity was Gravity, and it was amazing to watch him.
“Sahmi?” Tao blurted.

“My ears are open and my eyes are directed on yours,” Sahmi replied, looking directly into Tao’s eyes and snatching the pencil out of the air.

“U-uh—”

“She wants to know about our upcoming quiz,” I snickered, finishing her beautiful sentence.

Sahmi made a face. “Sa quf pors whi acneme duso?” Translated to English, that meant: “And, what would you like to know about the quiz?”

“What type of questions there are,” Tao answered. “I don’t like multiple choice because it messes me up, and writing is a big no, my nails are mucho too importanto!”

He chuckled at her “accurate” Spanish. “Well, Tao, see me after class, we’ll figure something out.” Sahmi winked at her just before the bell rang.

We darted to our seats then pulled out the assignment Sahmi wanted us to do in our textbooks. Following Body Science, I went to Riate and Brice called me over to his desk… What did I do?!

“Hello,” I said, showing the sign of respect.

“Hello, Eris. Uhm, have you seen Caine Prath lately?” he asked.

“Yeah, just yesterday. Why?”

“Lena needs him. Thank you, Goddess, merry part.”

(I loved how they referred to us as Gods and Goddess.) I ran off to my seat, then Tao walked in with a late pass to Brice. She joined me in the back and put her feet up on the desk.

As class progressed, I had a thought of Aya and did I ever give her that necklace. It was late January, and Tao and I had moved on with crying ourselves to sleep about Aya; we knew better than being little brats about it. Two weeks ago, we spread her ashes in my backyard, so we always knew where she was and how we could be connected to her. That was one thing I was happy about, others, not so much.

My Elements still weren’t working, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as last month. Turns out, the Elements made my reflexes stronger (I have no idea why) and it made me super alert during class. So, that was good. And, Dallas had been so good to me, like always. After Riate, we had lunch (walking tacos) then headed off to Art, and I was super happy because Verc was in a good mood. She had us create an abstract painting of what our affinity was in our own eyes; not what it was meant to be or what other people thought.

So, I splattered red and blue and white and green paint on the canvas, then used my pinky finger to swirl it around. The colors actually looked great, the white made everything a tad lighter. Just to be more creative, I even threw in some teal to describe myself. Verc had been circulating the room, but when she saw me, she stopped.
“Amazing work, Eris,” Verc grinned.

“You like it? I’m rethinking the red now that I added the teal… ” I softly replied, frowning at the bright red paint.

“No! That’s beautiful, and if anything were to change, I’d say to throw you in the paint.”

Verc patted my lower back then went on to do her business, leaving me to observe my work. The bell rang and Tao dragged me off to Math. Affinity Hour came quicker than I expected, so I decided to go and visit Govea.

I crept into the steel door and took in the aroma of the dragons. (They all smelt like vanilla mixed with cinnamon—very pleasing.) Down a few rows, I heard Govea’s deep laughter and a dragon cutely roaring back at him. I called out his name, then Govea peeked his head out from the last row of enclosures.
“Just the person.” He smiled. “Wanna meet the babies?”

“Babies?” I started walking closer and Govea went back to his place. My heart exploded when I saw the two baby dragons in the basket.

The first was a pretty pink, with an orange streak of scales going down her back. The other was a deep blue with a yellow streak of scales down her back; they were adorable.
“Meet Ripley and Riva: our new baby girls,” Govea smiled.

I gasped at Ripley’s cute little sneeze. (Ripley was blue; Riva was pink.) “I want to eat them,” I chuckled.

“Well, don’t. They need more than 17 hours to live, Eris.”

“I’ll save you guys for later.”

Ripley let out another sneeze and her scales poofed out; her sister used her small wing to gently pat her back.
“They’re a bit sick. Mama had a bad cold during birth,” Govea said, observing their tiny bodies.

“It’s an inherited trait, huh?” I smiled at Riva and she made an impressive attempt to do the same.

A good minute into talking with Govea, I heard another voice from behind me. “Well, what do ya know, Eris is in here with Govea.”

I turned around and saw Dallas approaching from a row behind. He gave me a soft kiss then looked at the babies.
“You’re cuter than I expected,” Dallas smiled, waving at them.

Riva sneezed and she shot up into the air—literally. She was flapping her little wings while she tried not to fall and break her face. Govea was a few feet away, so Dallas quickly grabbed her and she let out a baby sigh of relief.
“They are very sick,” Govea muttered, with his hand rubbing his chin in thought. “Say, Dallas, would you mind watching them while I’m gone? I have to make a quick stop in Ohio, but I don’t want them to be overwhelmed alone.”

“Uh, I guess. Harley can’t be around them, can he?” Dallas replied.

“I’m afraid not. Have he and Hannah stay at your Yard, they are far too rough to be around newborns.”

Dallas nodded and Govea thanked him again. Huh, Dallas with babies?! This. Will. Be. Hilarious. I picked up Ripley then waved to Govea. “I’ll make sure Dallas doesn’t kill them.”

“Me?! Please, I’m amazing with animals,” he scoffed.

“Says the one who kills them for a hobby,” Govea muttered under his breath. I laughed but Dallas made a boyish grunt as Govea shooed us off and we headed to the apartments.

As we walked, Riva kept trying to fly up, and Dallas had to hold her tight, but she sneezed every two seconds, so his grip was pretty pointless. He opened the door to his place, and we set the sisters free.

I plopped down on the couch, Dallas came over and laid across my lap.
“How was your day?” he asked as he cut the TV on.

“Fine.” I ran my fingers through his light hair. “How was yours?”

“You could say… terrible.”

“Why?”

Dallas’ violet eyes lifted to mine. “Because I say so. And, I got bit by Harley and Hannah. They just don’t like me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Would it make you feel better if I cooked for you?” I waggled my eyebrows down at him.

“Hmm, what will you make me?”

“I’m not telling you. Shut up and sit down.”

“Eris, that’s not very nice. You should apologize.” Dallas made his puppy-dog eyes.

“Dallas,” I mocked, “that’s not very nice. I think you should apologize.” I stuck my tongue out before running back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, I was still in the kitchen, listening to music and making this sandwich for him. Something was moving behind me… I whipped my head around and saw Dallas hop onto the counter then smile. I yanked my headphones out and laughed. “What the shit?! Go back in there.”

“Unless you want to be burned, turn around and make me a sandwich,” Dallas said, being his traditional smartass.

I stuck my hand in the drawer then pulled out something. “I know you didn’t just tell me to make you a sandwich,” I growled as I pointed the blade at him.

Dallas shrugged. “Okay, make me a grilled cheese sandwich.”

I dropped the knife back into the drawer then finished the sandwich. Cutting off the stove, I passed Dallas the plate and he took a gigantic bite.
His eyes got wide. “Awh, bitchin! There’s pepperoni!”

“Really?! I didn’t know.” I made a fake gasp but Dallas just nodded.

“Pepperoni.” He took another bite and rolled his eyes to the back of his head while he moaned.

“Is it that good?” I giggled and mimicked his face.

Dallas nodded. “It’s that good.”

“You’re welcome.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek then ran off to the living room to watch the game.

Dallas finished up in the kitchen, and took his medicine before coming to sit with me. He pulled my legs into his lap and grazed his fingertips over my covered skin—but it still felt like he was trying to tickle me. I wiggled from his grinp and he gave me a death stare.
“Quit moving,” Dallas huffed.

“No, you’re gonna molest me,” I giggled, tucking my knees to my chest.

“Molest you? I mean, I know that you’re into some freaky shit, but molest—”

I hurled a pillow at him and Dallas flopped back on the couch. He quickly threw the pillow back but I covered my head. Dallas yanked my leg again, then laid me on his lap and started tickling me.
“Dallas, stop! I will punch you in the throat!”

He dropped his hands and started laughing. I took advantage and pushed him back on the cushions, straddling his lean hips.
“Hey! That’s not fair,” Dallas chuckled.

“Life isn’t fair. Don’t tickle me unless you wanna wake up dead,” I growled while pinning his arms back.

“Wake up dead? How much sense does that make?”

“I dunno, do you wanna test that theory? Because I will—”

Dallas hit me with another pillow and I flipped back the other way. Damn, I never knew a pillow hurt that much! He had his turn on top then kissed my neck, but I pushed him onto his back then sat up straight. Dallas got up, then wrapped his arm around my upper back, pulling me closer to his warm body. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the smell of his yummy cologne; Dallas always smelt so fucking good. He must’ve noticed my sniffing because he pushed the side of my face.
“Hey!” I blew a strand of hair out of my face before sticking my tongue out at him.

“Don’t sniff people, you’re not a dog,” Dallas said.

I started to kiss on his neck, and Dallas sighed (I had my ways). He put his hands on my midriff, then slid his hand down to cup my ass while I grinded my hips down onto his.
“Hey,” Dallas laughed. “Don’t start something.”

I swung my legs the other way then straddled him backwards. Dallas put his face in the crook of my neck and started to lightly kiss me, with his tongue trailing up the side of my neck and to my ear. He was in love with my ears (not in the creepy way) because he loved to play with my earrings and piercings. On the left, I had an industrial piercing, a double hoop helix with tiny blue barbells, and two studs in the lobe. On the right, I had four tiny hoops in the lobe, another single helix, and a forward helix. He loved to tug and lick on them, and it made me crazy.
“Mmm,” I smiled. Dallas moved to my lobe and nibbled the pink ball I had in.

“You taste good,” he whispered. Damn, his warm breath made me moan.

“Well, I do like to taste good,” I giggled.

“Of course you love to taste good. Because I’m the only one who gets to ever taste you.”

I twisted my neck and glared at him. “Oh, really?”

“Yes really, Eris.” He gave me a small peck. I went in again and pushed Dallas back onto the soft cushions of the couch. He looked directly between my legs, obviously thinking about what was covered by my skin-tight leggings. I poked his stomach.

“Don’t look, I wore clothes for a reason,” I chuckled.

Dallas put his head back. “Meanie,” he pouted. Oh no, not the pout! Dallas made thee cutest pouty face, and thee cutest puppy eyes, and I always felt bad.

“No, Dallas! Please don’t, I’ll feel like shit!” I sighed. I put my face in my hands and Dallas started laughing.

“Alright, alright. Come on, I’ll let you leave this time since you have homework.”

I crawled out of his lap then sat up. Dallas walked me to the front door and leaned against the frame before bending down to kiss me. “I love you, don’t text me later,” he said.

I made a hurt face. “Damn. That was harsh.”

“What? I’m not gonna be up, I’m taking my ass to bed when you go.”

“Dallas, it’s only 6pm.”

“And? I slept terrible last night, so, I need to fix it by playing nocturnal.”

“Playing nocturnal? As in, sleep all day, party all night?” I laughed when he nodded.

“Yep, so, don’t text me.” Dallas wrapped me up in his thick arms. He put his hand on the base of my neck then whispered, “Next time, you won’t be leaving.”

“Oh really? And”—I pushed him away—”you won’t either, I may just tie you to the bed then molest you.”

Dallas down peered at me. “What is up with you and molesting?” he snickered.

I shrugged then hugged him around his neck and blew a kiss. “I love you.”

Behind his leg, Riva and Ripley looked at me like little kids—not really coming out, hiding behind Dallas. I waved to them then walked back to the dorms.

Right when I stepped the through the glass doors, my friends Giovanni and Ophelia stopped me.
“Hey, Eris,” Ophelia smiled. She had this bright pink, black and white hair, with dark eyes with vibrant rings of pink and white surrounding her pupils. Her affinity was Flexibility, and I liked to call her “Pretzel” because htere wasn’t a way she couldn’t turn her body.

She handed me a candle. “This is a gift from me and Gi, we wanted to say thanks for the advice.”

“Oh! Thanks! Everyone knows how I am about candles,” I giggled, observing the lavender candle. Last week, Giovanni was scared her powers were dying out because nothing was working, but I helped her locate her “inner Photography” and bring them back. But the unique thing was: Giovanni was Deaf, and Ophelia was her best friend.

Giovanni’s afifnity for Photography was astounding and she found art in everything she saw. Her dark blue eyes reflected her dark purple hair, and the ink of her Maxi swirled around her arms. She never used her disability as an excuse, and she was probably one of my closest friends!

“Thank you,” Giovanni signed, showing me the sign of respect at the end.

“You’re welcome, I gotta go. But I’m glad you got them back.” I smiled, bowed back then ran off to Tao.

Upstairs, I didn’t expect Tao to be sitting on the ground, with Mumble squawking and making a raucous. I giggled when he pecked her hand and made Tao squeal, “Ow!”

“Good job, Mumble. Keep it up,” I said.

“Ugh, hey. How was it with Dallas?”

I kicked my boots off, set the aromatic candle on the nightstand and leaned against the window.
“It was fine,” I sighed. “Hey, is Maz like, dead or something? He wasn’t in any classes, and he didn’t walk you to any Hours.” Tao rolled her eyes and clenched her fists on her knees.

“He’s being a complete asshole. His Dad took him through the portal, but I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday. And all he does is read my messages like they don’t exist,” she said. It was Thursday, so I knew Tao had to be going crazy.

I scoffed. “Well, at least you know he’s not dead. Alright, I have to change and finish my homework.” I peeled off my bottoms, tossed my shirt into the hamper then scampered along to the bathroom.

It took way longer to finish my homework, but after reading my book and playing with Mikey, I flopped down on the bed. Tao came over to me and sat on my legs, obviously prepared to ask me something.
“Yes?” I said from under my arms.

“You want a slushie? You look really tired, and, slushies work magic,” she smiled. I nodded, and Tao made me a cherry slushie.

I sipped the treat like a toddler, and Tao must’ve been happy because she made herself one–though it was just slush, no flavor. We ended up sleeping in the bed together, with our slushies on my nightstand.
====
Thank God the next day was Friday because I was mentally and physically exhausted. Seriously. On the History test, I got 100, and in Art, Verc displayed my work for an example. Wow, I really sounded like a goody-goody…. ew. After Math, I got texts on my phone from Bull.
Bull: Hey, are you done in class??
Me: Yes, why?
Bull: Come to the library.
Me: Fine.

I had already been heading toward the dorms, so I redirected and went to Ria. 57. When I opened the doors, I could see Bear and Bull talking with their mom, and obviously trying to tell her a joke. Bull saw me, then stood up and waved me over like an idiot with a grin so bright that he looked kind of like a mad man. Chryseis rolled her eyes at him when Bear gently punched her shoulder, and she punched him back even harder. She saw me then grinned.
“Hello, Eris. Merry meet,” Chryseis said.

“Hello. Uhm, what do you two want?” I asked the Twins.

They perked up and rose to their feet. “Oh! We need your help,” Bear deeply said.

“We don’t know how the Dewey Decimal System works… so can you help?” Bull gave me the biggest grin ever.

“I guess….”

“Eris, I suggest you run as far as possible; they’ll start depending on you like they’re lost puppies.” Chryseis gave them an annoyed look then smiled again before leaving.

“Ma!” Bear laughed. “That’s not nice!”

“I love you!” Bull called out.

I laughed when Chryseis turned around and gave them a playful finger.
“ What do you guys need?” I asked.

“Uhm, dragons. Particularly babies… that are sick… and shooting themselves into the air.”

“Ah, Riva and RIpley? They’re so cute! But, you left them alone with Dallas?”

Bear nodded as we crossed over to a bookshelf. “He isn’t that bad of a parent. Dallas turns on the game and they’re mesmerised.”

“Ya mean like you?” I glanced back at them as I handed them a thick book.

Bull carried the first book over to the lounge area, and I passed an even thicker one to Bear. He joined his brother in the red chairs then flipped them open.
“Goddamn!” They started coughing and waving their hands at the tons of dust from the book covers.

“Well, that was probably written in 1700 B.C.,” I sighed, kicking my feet up on the table.

Bear skimmed for a while then gasped, “I’ve found nothing!”
Bull took his turn then said, “Oh wow, there’s nothing useful in here!”

“Well, you’ve only read two pages, so, you should look a bit deeper. Pick a number, divide it by 2 or 4, then read that page.”

The Twins got their numbers then flipped through the books again. Bull found something and said, “It’s because mama had a dragon-flu!”

“And, they have terrible immune systems,” Bear mumbled, flipping through more pages as if he’d never held a book before. “This is so not English,” he chuckled.

Bear and Bull looked for a bit more then handed the books back to me like I was a servant. I looked at them as if they were crazy. “Since when am I your servant? God gave you two working legs, so use them.”

Bear made a groan and got louder while he stomped off to the bookshelf, same with Bull and his cute pout. They came back then looked at me like I was the devil.
“Problem? I’m just trying to keep you two in shape,” I deviously smiled but the Twins rolled their eyes.

“We gotta go and check on Dallas, are you coming?” Bull asked, standing up and running his fingers through his cloudy hair.

Every time I stared at his tresses, I just wondered how he made his clothes match something so bright. I was sure his hair was a brighter white than snow, and when I looked at Bear’s hair, it was darker than a summer night sky.

“Nah, I’m gonna stay here. Hey, Bear, can you go ask Zara for a book on Fire? And Earth? And Water? And Air?”

Bear turned the corner of his lip up into a sneer. “Uhm, do I look like a male stripper? Then don’t ask me to please you.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Caine.” Bull looked at him with bright grey eyes but Bear huffed air out of his nostrils.

“If you get it, I’ll buy you a smoothie,” I quickly bribed.

It took Bear about two seconds to sprint to the front desk and come back with the four books. He had an obsession with smoothies; there wasn’t anything Bear wouldn’t do for a smoothie. He gently passed them to me.
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Call me when you really need a smoothie.”

“Okay! Bye,” Bear said. He and Bull walked out of the library then went back to the apartments for Dallas.

Why did I need these books? Good question. Sometime that following week I wanted to cast a circle and “talk with” my affinity. Over a month without powers made me kinda antsy, so I made it a goal to cast a circle at least once so I didn’t freak-the-fuck-out. The books would just show me how to do it properly; no room for screwing up.

I sat the books on the table, side by side then opened the Air first. One thing from rituals I remembered was: Air, Fire, Water then Earth; call them in that order, dismiss them backwards. Since the Twins and Dallas gave me those candles, I’d been illuminating our dorm with them and concentrating on my homework (and it really worked). Casting a circle was completely different: I had to make sure I had a purified space; complete the circle; do it well; 10000000% of my attention is on the circle; have a purpose. Well, I had those answers and items. To purify the space, I could use the lavender batch Nana and Papa gave me, and weave it to make a scented braid. Completing the circle is easy: I just needed a certain amount of area with my candles in a compass organization. And, the rest was fairly easy to do or find or whatever. Studying the Riate words got very confusing, since I was used to the rituals being written in english. Some of the letters got turned over, some had extra lines, most had squiggly lines and twists, and I had to translate all of it! Well, after a difficult study, I picked up the books and crossed over to the colossal desk.

Zara was in her own little world, reading One for the Money and humming a tune.
“Zara—”

“AH!” Zara’s book flew out of her hand and she was all bug-eyed. She sighed when she realized it was me. “I’m sorry, Eris. Pardon me for startling you.”

That little scream she did made me jump. “It’s alright. And, you have a beautiful screaming voice, it is truly outstanding,” I smiled but Zara gave me a look.

She noticed the books against my chest and nodded. “Ah, casting circles, huh. Have any idea when you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, before this month is over.”

Zara nodded as she typed something into her computer, with her pink nails flying across the keyboard. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she had a cute flower crown on.
“Alright,” Zara grinned. “Feel free to keep them as long as you like, I won’t mind if they’re not returned.”

“Zara, I can’t just do something like that. That’s called stealing,” I was being serious but she laughed.

“Sweetie, it’s not considered stealing if I say you can have them. Heck, I’m the only Professor who’s read all 17,836 of these books, and, I have permission to give them to you. So, study long and hard, and have a great circle.”

She was right: her affinity (Reading, obviously) made her memorize chapters and lines from books, and it made her read twice as fast. So, if she said I could have them, there was no arguing.

I raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Zara wiggled her fingers at me and I exited the large glass doors.

Not only did I just get four gigantic books, but, I can reread and do an even better job on my circle. With my mental notes, I planned to cast the circle tomorrow, in the woods where it’s secluded and peaceful. I would make an addition to the lavender, and mix some dried eucalyptus to give it a yummy smell. The entire purpose of the circle would be to connect with my powers spiritually, more than just physically and emotionally. Oh! I had to use the candles Dallas and the Twins gave me, and I’d add another candle: the one Giovanni gave to me.

I’d use it for Spirit. I read that Spirit was an affinity, and categorized as an Element, so why not? The purple candle would be in the middle, with the other four in a perfect diamond to connect them all.

Seems like my circle was gonna be pretty darn good. While coming up the stairs in the dorms, my phone buzzed with a text from Dallas.
Dallas: what are u doing?
Me: Why?
Dallas: Answer my question, please.
Me: Going to my room. Why?

Dallas was just asking about his sweatshirt—I kinda took it last time I slept over. He wanted it back, but I wanted to keep it because it smelt like him and it was big and warm! Dallas said he’d steal it back, I highly doubted that he’d do it.

When I walked into the dorm room, Tao was coming out of the shower with a bit of cold smoke radiating from her wet body. She whirled around and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I waved and smiled back.

“What’d you do after school? I missed you last Hour,” Tao said as she searched for some clothes.

“Oh, the Twins needed me.”

“Hmm. And, what’s up with the books?” She slipped a shirt over her head and glanced at me.

I dropped the books on my desk then laid down on the bed. “Well, I’m casting a circle soon, so I just needed some review.”

“That’s awesome!” Tao clapped her hands together and gave me the happiest smile ever.

I smiled back as she stepped into a pair of gym shorts.

She sneered at her purse on the desk. “Poop. Well, I have to finish this for Kirsi”—Tao pulled a thin stack of papers out of her bag—”and I don’t feel like it.”

“Tao.” I snatched the papers from her. There were only four pages, so it shouldn’t have been that hard. “Half and half?”

“Honey, no. Thank you, I have to do this by myself, because this is stuff I don’t know. You know it, but I don’t.” Tao gently took the papers back and sashayed to her desk.

She put her iPhone on the speaker and turned on Kenny Chesney—oh God. I sat on my bed, listening to her sing along and do her homework. It was funny to watch Tao multitask, because she was super clumsy. The pen kept rolling off of the desktop, so she had to continuously bend over and pick it up. After the eighth time, Tao froze the writing utensil to the desk and continued working. (Great use of power.)

She closed her books and put her stuff away, saying, “Finished!”

“Good job, Tao Chesney,” I muttered.

“You know it. Hey, so I gotta tell you this story.”

“I’m listening…” I drew my eyes to her.

“So, one time when I was 14, there was this boy”—with Tao, there’s always a boy—”and he was real cute. And, I finally grew the tits to go over and say hi, but, I was just so nervous! I went over, he waved, and I freaked out! I accidentally froze his hand like—” Tao had her hands up, and there was a little spark of energy before the power shot out of the window, and sent a strong wind through the room. Tao got flung back onto her bed, and there was a big crackle of ice over our heads. After the ice stopped falling, I sat up and shook the tiny crystals out of my hair. Tao had not moved yet.

“Tao!” I scrambled out of bed and came over next to her, and she hugged me. “Are you okay?”

Her cold body felt even colder, and I was just scared that I would lose her. “That ain’t supposed to happen,” Tao nervously chuckled into my neck. I held her out at arm’s length then smiled.

I pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. But—” Tao flicked her hand out, with the intention of getting ice to hit the wall, but nothing happened. She tried over and over again until she was hyperventilating and frantically talking over me.

“Eris, Eris, my powers! What happened? Eris! Help, I dunno what—”

“Calm down,” I slowly and loudly said. Tao cradled her head in her hands. “Okay, we need to go and alert Brice, because that’s not normal.”

“Right,” she flatly said. Tao was stunned—in all of 14 years, she’d never lost her powers or anything. She grabbed a hoodie then stepped into her boots; I stepped into my shoes and we quickly went downstairs.

It was past curfew, but that was the least important thing right now. What was important was Tao. Some of the girls were sitting in the living room watching MTV, and one of those girls was Giovanni. I tapped her shoulder and her soft pink eyes locked on mine.
“What’s up?” she signed.

“Giovanni, we have to leave. It’s important, and we’re going to Brice. Just, don’t freak if we’re leaving after curfew,” I replied.

“Is everything okay? You look upset.” Her hands moved quickly, so I knew she wasn’t happy with what we were asking.

“Sorta. We… We’ll explain it later, but we have to go.” Tao and I bowed to her and she smiled back.

Tao and I burst out of the glass doors then hurriedly walked over to Ria. 84. (We knew we’d be in some deep shit if we were sprinting around like Usain Bolt—especially after curfew.) When we passed by the apartments, it was clear that there was a party going on, because chatter was beyond the roof. And a bunch of lights were on on the top floor. Tao grabbed my arm and said, “We might just have to run… I don’t want to take too long.”

“Eh, you’re right,” I nodded then we broke out into sprint.

By time we got there, Tao and I were both breathing a bit hard (we may or may not have run into a crazy gremlin).

We opened the doors and walked down the dark hallway to Brice’s office. From inside, we could hear Brice talking to someone—not to himself, but someone.
“Maybe you should tell that to your aunt, Karder,” he said.

Oh. He was talking to Xi and Karder—his sons. (The two men who escorted me into Rianate, and, they were the ones to take Aya’s body away.) I didn’t even figure that out until Dad told me, but, it made sense: they were a bit older than us (maybe 27-30 years old), they worked for Brice all the time, and they had Brice’s ,. (It just meant that Lena was their aunt.) And no one had seen Lena for a while, she went to Arizona for something. Anyway, Brice finished talking with them, then Xi and Karder passed us in the hall.
“Girls,” Xi asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the dorms? Curfew.”

“We need Brice, it’s far too important to wait,” Tao replied.

“Oh. Merry part,” Karder said, bowing to us. He and his brother quickly left to wherever they stayed—I think in the mansion. Tao took an intense breath, then slowly widened the heavy door…. Brice was standing with his back to us, sipping on wine from a silver goblet.

“Brice…” Tao faintly said.

He quickly turned to us with a raised eyebrow. “It is past curfew. You two shouldn’t—”

“Her powers are gone,” I blurted, inadvertently cutting him off.

His expression darkened. “What? Why has this happened? Show me, please.”

Tao started walking closer then flicked her wrist, but nothing…. nothing came out. She let out a frustrated sigh and plopped down in the leather wingback chair .
“I dunno what happened, Brice. We were in the dorm, and it didn’t work. It was like, some invisible force pushed my powers out of my body,” Tao explained, looking him dead in the eye. “The ceiling froze over, and the ice melted, crackled and fell onto us.”

“Hmm, well this is completely abnormal. Sit, Eris,” Brice said. I plopped down in the chair, Brice took his seat behind his desk and continuously stroked his bearded chin. “Now, it is completely peculiar… It’s never been that two Rio have lost their powers, and it’s never been two friends that it’s happened to.”

Tao and I shared a knowing look. She turned back to Brice then said, “What’re we going to do?”

“It’s not all that safe for us to be powerless,” I added.

He must’ve gotten an idea because his dark eyes lit up. “Well,” a smile crept onto his lips. “Asking for help always works.”

“Wha?” we dumbly huffed at once. I shook my head before saying, “Brice, what kind of help do you need? Everything is right in front of you, you practically own us.”

“Yeah, who’d be able to help?” Tao creased her brow.

“It’s not like I have an affinity for everything. Leave me, I’ll show you two tomorrow. But for now, avoid things that could harm you or your non-existent powers. After school, I think I’ll have something to help. Merry part.” He gently bowed to us, and we stood then bowed back.

Tao dragged me out of the doors and we started back to the dorms.

“Tomorrow? After school? What the shit, I lose my powers and now we’re playing tea party? Did he do this with you? How in the world are we supposed to get them back? Why did this happen? Please, tell me why. Because I don’t have an answer to any of my questions, and it’s tiring to be so overwhelmed and stressed out!” Tao frantically said, waving her cold hands around in front of her chest.

“Tao, it’s not so hard after a while. Brice knows what he’s doing, but, I’m not so sure about playing tea party either. We’ll just have to wait.” I gave her an apologetic smile; Tao rested her head on my shoulder.

We had been talking to Brice for a while, and it was nearing 1am. But, I couldn’t care less because that next day was Saturday, and, I had to make one more stop. I had decided to cast circle tomorrow night, but now that Tao’s powers were gone, we needed some extra candles. It was completely out of the norm for Rios to be out this late, and we had to go all the way over to the Rec Hall. In the Rec Hall where kids performed rituals or just hung out, there was another gigantic room—for candles. Literally hundreds of candles, row upon row upon row, just in this extra storage room. They were used for circles, or if someone wanted a candle for the night. And, the candles were based on affinity, and I knew there had to be some Ice ones in there.

I held Tao’s forearm as we entered the closed gates. The door wasn’t locked, but it was steel and it took both of us to open it. Tao shut the door after we got in, then followed me down to the room. We creaked open the next steel door and the different scents of candles hit us.
“It always smells good in here,” I grinned.

“What do we need? You have four candles for your circle,” Tao softly said as she observed the different candles.

“Yeah, those are for me, we need some for you.” I spotted the first light blue candle and made an “aha!” sound. Grabbing the first, my eyes lifted and I saw the second. Tao grabbed another, but we just had to find a fourth… Oh! (Trust me, this would be much harder if our vision wasn’t so good. There were well over a thousand candles in there.)

Tao seized the last and we quietly left the room, shutting the large door behind us. Ten minutes later, we were climbing up the stairs in the Girls’ Dorm and getting back to our room. I sat the candles on her shelf, Tao put hers next to mine. She turned to me as she stripped off her hoodie.
“So, you’re saying you’re gonna cast a circle for both of us?”

“No,” I corrected, “we’re gonna cast a circle for the both of us.”

“But, I dunno how to do that shit,” Tao sighed.

“Neither do I. Well, sorta—whatever. Tomorrow afternoon, stop at the library and read about yours, okay?”

Tao nodded as she crawled into the bed. “I’m hella tired, goodnight.”

I took off my clothes then flopped back onto the soft bedspread. Five seconds into laying down and relaxing, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Dallas: r u sleojaeping?

His typos made it clear that Dallas was shit-faced.

Me: Baby, get some sleep.
Dallas: HeAKJy nhl. paibSues wqhxat?

This was one of those times when autocorrect did not want to correct him.

Me: Dallas.

Dallas: Nothing. naijJusjnvSayingqmxks

He was drunk. Seriously.

Me: Go to bed, good night.

Dallas sent a few random letters then continued blowing me up. I didn’t bother checking my phone every time it buzzed, Dallas was just sending me random words like “hey” or “Eris” or “wake up” or “hah,” just drunk stuff. (At least I know he was at that party.) My notifications started signaling phone calls (Dallas was a drunk-caller), and they lasted about two seconds. Many phone calls and text messages later, I slowly closed my eyes and got to sleep.
====
I knew the second I should’ve woken up to check on Dallas because he interrupted my dream. I had been lying out in the sun (sunny weather is the bomb) on a big, heart-shaped floatie in the middle of a lake made of Sprite (who knows?), when all of a sudden everything disappeared and Dallas’ voice burst into my skull.
“You’re too young to sleep so late!”

God, he reminded me of my Father. My eyes fluttered open to meet Boing’s heavy glare with her fluffy tail resting on my neck. She made her annoyed squeak sound, sneezed, stood up long enough to pad around and around in circles on my chest, then she plopped down and took up the pillow space.
“You’re really no help at all,” I grumbled.

She ignored me. I only had on a polka-dot bra, and black shorts, so I was extra chilly. Fuck, I did need to go check on Dallas—he REALLY knew how to drink. I rolled my neck on my shoulders, then pushed my messy hair back and out of my eyes. Tao was curled up in a little ball, with her arm under her cheek and her face smushed into the pillow. Cutie. Mumble and Mikey were chilling on the floor, with Mumble laying on Mikey’s side and Mikey snoozing with his face in his paws.

I ran to the bathroom, took a hot shower, then quickly got dressed. If anything, leaving Dallas by himself while he was hungover was terrible. He was usually grumpy in the morning, but especially with a headache and tons of alcohol in his system. Ha, just to see him suffer…. Anyway, I grabbed my cellphone and stepped into my shoes then left the room.

Oh boy. I walked into Dallas’ place and saw the loose tee shirt on the couch. Peeking into the hallway, I saw the cracked bedroom door, and I heard Dallas shuffling the covers around. I sat my bag on the chair then slowly approached the bed. He was laying on his front, with his messy hair and his bare back to me. His Maxi looked sexy, but I wasn’t focused on that. I softly shook his shoulder.
“Dallas,” my voice barely reached a whisper. He wasn’t budging. I shook his shoulder again. “Dallas.” Nada. I put my hand on the base of his neck and got close to his ear. “DALLAS!”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Dallas popped up and threw a pillow at me.

“Ow!”

“Oh, baby.” He groaned. Dallas rubbed my cheek and said, “I’m sorry, but don’t do that.”

“It’s… fine? Jesus, boy, get up!” I poked his shoulder but Dallas didn’t smile. “When did you get home?”

“Uh…” Dallas glared at the clock on his nightstand. His normally bright blue eyes were reflecting his mood: dull and crestfallen. “2am, I think. I dunno.”

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his thighs, and his head down. I ran my fingers through his messy locks, making Dallas sigh and rest his head on my stomach.
“Maybe a shower,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Shush. I know, I’m dirty and need a shower. And, dear God, I need food! And coffee! And sleep! Ughh,” Dallas flopped back onto the bed and covered his face with a pillow. He still had on his jeans, but they were low-rise so I had a good view.

“Rebel, maybe you shouldn’t stay out so long, since you enjoy sleeping the day away.”
I called him Rebel for two reasons: it was his middle name, and Dallas read this story about a guy named Rebel who always drank. Plus, he was my little Rebel.

“Not in the mood for jokes.” His voice was muffled but I could hear him clearly.

“Okay. Well, take a shower, I’ll make you food and stuff.”

“Thanks, Avatar.” Dallas chucked the pillow at the wall, and I flinched when it landed on the hard surface with so much force. He got up then squeezed my hip. “I can’t kiss you because I have every hint of alcohol on my breath.”

I chuckled and Dallas patted my ass. He shut the bathroom door then did his business while I went to prepare him breakfast. 20 minutes later, a fresh Dallas walked into the kitchen for breakfast, coffee, and medicine. He took a sip of the coffee and made a satisfied groan. He leaned his head back to me.
“Did I ever tell you that you make caffeine taste like Jesus?”

“I’ve been told before,” I giggled, handing him the plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

“And did I ever tell you that you have just made food my new drug?”

“Nah, but you should. And, did you brush your teeth?”

Dallas nodded. “Why—” I didn’t give him time to answer before devouring his lips. Keeping my lips on his, I took the coffee from his hands, and Dallas seized my hips. He trapped me against the counter, using his tongue to explore my mouth while I inched my fingers into his sweatpants. We finally pulled away, breathing hard and Dallas had a slight smile on.

“Because I wanted to do that,” I grinned, walking to the living room.

Dallas quickly joined me and he ate his food while I searched for something to watch. He took his plate back to the kitchen then laid on the cushions with me. I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him about Tao losing her powers, Dallas wouldn’t really care.
“We probably need to check on the Twins,” he muttered.

“What? Are they shit-faced too,” I groaned, tossing my head back and closing my eyes.

“If I was that bad, they have to be drowning in a tub of beer. Come on.”

Dallas yanked me off of the couch and we quickly went to Bear’s apartment. His place was pretty neat, he just had a few misplaced items here and there (not to mention everything was dark, and, all of the curtains were closed). In the bedroom, Bear was laying on his stomach with the covers tossed to the side and his tee shirt dangling at the foot of the mattress. Dallas gave me a look then mouthed, “I’ll do it.”

I nodded. Dallas took a deep breath then crossed over to the side of the bed. He hit Bear with a pillow, he didn’t budge. Dallas tried over and over, but nothing. He rolled his eyes then grabbed two more pillows. Dallas hit Bear with so much force that I even flinched. With lightning speed, Bear hopped out of bed, shoved Dallas onto the ground and yelled, “GET OUT!”

I picked up a pillow and hit him in the stomach. Bear barely (haha) moved, but he was taken aback by the way I hit him.
“You get off your ass and get in the shower,” I huffed, giving him a death stare. “And say sorry.”

Bear sneered at me but grinned at Dallas. “Sorry, fucker. I’ll go for the nuts next time.”

“Thank you.” Dallas grinned back as he picked himself up. Bear hurried off to the shower then did his own business. Dallas looked back at me with dark green eyes and said, “You can wake up Christopher. He actually scares me a bit.”

I shrugged and we left to go and get Bull. Once again, his place was really nice, and he was in his bedroom snoozing away. The duvet was a bright blue pattern, and the gazillion of pillows were a cute shade of blue (they really contrasted with his white hair). I hit him with a pillow, nothing happened. After the tenth time, Bull seemed as if he was dead. I gave Dallas a helpless look but he mouthed, “Super hard.” I heeved a great sigh then saw Bear appear in the doorway. He asked me for the pillow but I scrunched up my nose to make him back down.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Bull. I held the pillow out then, I rammed it down onto his back.
“WHAT THE FUCK!”

I think that did it. Bull sat up then saw it was me. “You little—”

I ran over to Dallas and Bear and stood behind them, looking over their shoulders at the hungover victim. Bull hopped out of the bed then gave me a death stare.

Bull twisted up his mouth. “Someone make me breakfast, I need to shower.”

“Anything else for our queen?” I said under my breath.

“I’d like your head on a stick. Your queen shall be clean.” Bull slammed the bathroom door and did his own little business.

By time Bear and Bull were done with breakfast and going about their day, Dallas and I were sitting in the bedroom and talking.
“…and it was really nasty,” I giggled. I just told him a story about the time my friend had cat pee in a cup and poured it in my backpack. (We were 15, don’t judge.)

He tossed his head back and started laughing. I pulled him down into a kiss, but I didn’t expect Dallas to stick his tongue into my mouth.
“Baby!” I giggled.

“I want to show you my love,” he laughed into my mouth.

I pushed him off. “Show your love in another way, but don’t choke me with your organ.”

“What the….” Dallas sighed and shook his head. “Choke you with my organ?”

“Tongue”—I stuck my tongue out—“organ.”

“Eris”—Dallas put his finger on my forehead—“weirdo.”

I blew him a kiss and Dallas kissed me for real. After the eternal kiss, he pulled back then said, “I have to go soon. And, I don’t want to start something we can’t finish.”

“Poop! Where do you have to go?” I replied`.

“Uh, Riva and Ripley, duh. And, I have to check on Hannah and Harley. Oh, and I have to go practice. And I have to—”

“That’s amazing, but I don’t care.”

Dallas pushed the side of my face as he got off of the bed. He reached into his closet, grabbed something then sighed. Dallas pulled out a deep blue shirt and grinned. “You might wanna close your eyes, I’m getting naked.”

“Oh, let me just open my eyes,” I laughed, turning to his body.

Dallas stripped his white shirt off then changed into the blue one. He tossed it over his shoulder, and into the hamper.
“Awh,” I pouted. “That wasn’t naked.”

“Close enough. Come on, I’m gonna walk ya back,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. Dallas wrapped his arm around my waist then nuzzled my hair.

“Ew,” I pushed him away but I was laughing. Dallas snapped his teeth at me. “Sorry, I don’t like people touching my hair.”

He looked down. Dallas hooked my neck in his elbow and (annoyingly) ruffled my hair like a relative would do to me. I had to reach down and grab his groin for him to stop.
“HEY!” Dallas laughed.

“Don’t touch.” I jumped on his back and started ruffling his hair. “Unless you want me to cut this off.”

“It’s beautiful, so don’t touch me!”

I dug my fingers into his thick hair then messed it up, but Dallas kept moving his head from my grip. We were walking down the hallway, so we probably looked very stupid. Dallas pulled me back to my feet and hooked his hand behind my neck to pull me close.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” he grinned.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I replied, running ahead to race him.

Dallas broke out running after me, and we made it to the dorms much faster than expected. I reached up then ran my fingers through his hair once more.
“Thank you for saving me from a terrible hangover,” Dallas chuckled.

“Anytime. And, thank you for touching my hair like a creep,” I smiled.

He kissed the top of my head and sent me on my way. Now, this circle: it’d be fairly easy to cast Tao—since she had one affinity to control. But me, that would be a bit different because I had never done all four. Hmm.

Heading into the kitchen for my brown pop, questions swarmed around in my head, but, I wasn’t that freaked out about the circle. Hell, I’d seen someone cast one, and call their powers, but any other time, it hadn’t really crossed my mind. I was still gonna do it. And, Tao had to call her own. She texted me earlier and said that she read some stuff in the library, so she somewhat knew what we were doing.

I walked upstairs to our room then saw Tao walking down from the other hall.
“Hey,” she called out.

“Hey.” I waited a few seconds for her to catch up. She looped her arm with mine and we continued walking. “So are you excited to cast this circle?”

“Actually, I am very excited. I told my mom, and, since she’s such a softy, she freaked out. But I told her that I was okay, and we were doing the circle tonight.”

“Oh, good. Well, it’s 6 right now… So, be ready at 9pm, and we’ll have enough time.”

Tao nodded and opened the door for us. I went straight to my nightstand then started searching around for my lavender batch that Nana gave me, and I needed the eucalyptus. They both smelled really good. And together, that’s like Jesus touched my nostrils. I grabbed my four candles, and Tao handed me hers.
“Thank you.” I put the candles together on my desk with a silver lighter.

Oh! I almost forgot about the candle Giovanni gave me! While I was getting the stuff together, Tao had taken the time to braid the lavender and eucalyptus together in one long strand.
“Heh, thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome. This smells amazing,” Tao replied.

“Imagine what it smells like burning.”

Tao smiled and handed me the braid. By time it was 9pm, we were gently putting the stuff in one of Tao’s bags so we could leave for Ria. 200.

When we found the circle to stop at, I looked at Tao and reached into the blue bag. I sat the candles and lavender against a tree then Tao drew a circle in the air with her cold hand.
“This is the circle,” she explained.

“Alright. So, these four trees”— I pointed to the four gigantic oaks—”will keep the barrier.”

“Kay.”

Tao and I decided for her to cast first, so we grabbed all the blue candles and put them North, East, South and West to create a perfect cross. I lit the lavender, then motioned for her to step into the middle of the circle. Clearing my throat, I stepped into the little opening and began:
“I call for Ice to join our circle, and give back the gelid powers to Tao…” I rotated around the entire circle, waving the burning strand through the air. Tao sat in the middle of the circle, with her eyes locked on all of my movements.

I lit the first candle and continued, “Ice for integrity, Tao doesn’t even have to try.”

Second candle. “To be creative, and not to lose our spark, Ice for Imagination.”

The third one seemed to glow brighter. “Ice for Importance.”

When I lit the fourth, I could feel it. The short jolt of energy that ran down my spine. But, it wasn’t a regular energy—it was chilly and made goosebumps appear on my skin. “Ice for Individuality because no one’s the same. I call Ice to this circle!”

I quickly left the circle and closed it back up with a rock. (For a beginner, I said that beautifully.) All of the candles’ lights whipped up, and grew in size until Tao looked like she had four lamps around her. There was an energy. A light blue, glowing energy that ran candle to candle and cast a light upon Tao’s body. She was pretty much glowing herself. But, Tao had her eyes closed, and it was obvious that she was taking deep breaths, to inhale the faint scent of lavender, and to be more connected to her powers. We read in the book that using a part of the affinity was important to the circle, so, I clutched my water bottle, and screwed open the top. There was just ice in here. I grabbed all of the little cubes, then threw them into the circle with Tao and I was shocked. Shocked by how the ice just attracted to her, like Tao had magnets in her hands. She clutched them in her palms, and I saw the glow from her back. Her Maxi. Tao’s black top gave me a good view of her upper back and the light blue icicles glew a dark blue, and I knew it was from the Ice. Damn, she looked so calm and relaxed.

The candles whipped out, and everything was still. No glowing Maxi. No energy connecting the candles. A relaxed Tao. The air was very chilly, and I had an idea why. She opened her eyes, then grinned at me.
“That was great. But it’s your turn.”

I weakly smiled and nodded.

Tao stood up, then fixed her long hair—the Ice and wind had made it a bit messy. She picked up the blue candles, and I placed the Elements in their spaces. Air was West, Fire was South, Water was East, and Earth was North. I had the purple candle in my hand as I stepped into the middle of the circle. Spirit was the center. Tao cleared her throat then smiled at me.
“Sit down, and relax,” she said.

I plopped down Indian-style then put the Spirit candle in between my legs. Here we go…. Tao relit the braid, then waved around the air.
“I call the Five Elements to join our circle, and bestow the importance of our powers upon Eris,” she gently said as she circled the space.

Tao finished purifying then walked to the Air candle.
“I call Air to this circle. We breathe it in our first breaths, so it is only right that it be the first Element called. Come to her, Air!”

Breezy.

Second candle was Fire.
“Fire warms us with its passionate flame. I call Fire to this circle!”

Hot.

She sauntered around to Water then grinned.
“Water is a perfect balance to flame, just as Eris is a perfect balance to soccer. I call Water to this circle!”

Cool.

Earth would be quadruple thee best.
“Earth supports us and nurtures us. As the fourth Element, I call Earth to this circle!”

Grass.

Quickly moving, Tao crossed over to me and nodded.
“It’s within all of us, important and soothing. I call Spirit to this circle.”

Relaxation.

I felt a jolt of energy run down my body, and I shut my eyes. The water…. air…. fire…. spirit…. earth.

My ears were filled with the crashing of waves against the beach shore.
It felt as if I was laying in the grass, with flowers and tall trees around me.
The warmth of a fireplace on a cold Christmas night made me happy and bubbly inside.
Wind was whipping through my hair, like the strongest tornado ever was approaching.
Mmm…. I was relaxed, and it felt like nothing mattered except for being calm, and alone.

Waves of power and relaxation rushed through my body, making me feel so…. Like everything was in place. I could feel the heat, the warmth of a blazing fire. I could feel the cool breeze softly blowing in the spring. I could feel water running down my body in the shower. And I could definitely feel cool, calm and collected emotions filling my brain. Inhale, exhale. In and out. Take and give. There was a fluttery feeling in my lower stomach. My Maxi was glowing. Gently placing my hand on my navel, I could feel how warm, and how powerful my Maxi was. Damn.

Before I could move again, my eyes shot open and I saw the energy. Whoa…. Red, blue, white, purple, and a green energy twirled together between the candles. It kinda startled me by how close the energy was to touching my body, there was no telling what could happen. Tao had tossed five sheer scarves into the circle: one to represent each Element. But, even touching the scarves, it made me radiant to feel the power charging through my body…. like my old self was back…. and it felt as if I had never lost the power. Though I’d been in the circle for a minor time, it was like an eternal event, that nothing compared to.

The energy slowly dispersed… leaving me alone in the circle. The candles whipped out, and we were left with soft scents of nature, and the melted wax. Tao glared at me.
“That felt like heaven,” I breathed.

“See? I know a thing or two about casting circles,” she giggled as she cleared up our supplies.

I stood up, grabbed my candles and broke the annulus we created with large rocks. The circle was cleared and gone, just the scent of lavender and eucalyptus remained in the silent air. Tao snatched her bag up then we headed back to the dorms. I felt relaxed. Calm. And I hadn’t felt this way in a looooooong time; my powers had been gone.
“Thanks,” Tao abruptly said. “That was completely amazing.”

“You’re very welcome. Yeah, I didn’t know what Spirit would feel like until then,” I responded.

“Hmph, I felt a bit of Water while I was in the circle…. Is that normal?” She gave me a confused look.

“Well, it is Ice and ice is just frozen, expanded water.” I paused. “It’s not your strength, but Water still exists within it.”

Tao nodded. It was 10:30pm, and I had to make a stop at the library, so I alerted Tao to proceed back to the dorms. When I entered the library, Zara waved me over to the front desk.
“Did you finish the book?” she smiled as bright as the sun.

“Zara, that book is well over one-thousand pages, I can’t finish four in one night,” I lightly chuckled. Zara was known for finishing books in less than two days.

“Well, you can always try. Haha, what are you looking for?”

“Uhm—”

I was cut off by a hand wrapping around my midriff. It was Dallas, and he winked down at me to show he meant no harm.
“Hi,” he sweetly smiled.

I shook it off then turned back to Zara. “Spirit, please. Tao and I cast our circles.”

Zara’s eyes went wide. “Really?! That’s great!”

Dallas hooked his finger in the waistband of my jeans and kept me against his body while Zara searched for the book. She handed me a book thicker than I could fully grasp.
“Keep this, too. Was all well?” Zara curiously asked.

“Great”— I shoved the book at Dallas. “I called Spirit, too, so it was way different! Tao said she felt Water when hers was called.”

“Ah, that’s good! Have you any idea when you’ll cast another?”

“No, but, I really wanna shoot for next month. But, I’m not so sure on a date for next month.”

Zara gave a single nod. She looked past me then said, “Dallas, have you cast your circle yet?”

“No, what am I gonna cast for?” Dallas raised an eyebrow.

“Mister, you could cast for anything. It may not be as important to your strength, but it’d be a good idea. Yellow candles would suit you.”

Dallas curled his lip up. “I don’t like yellow.”

“Why not purple?” Zara gave a smirk but Dallas rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Dallas. Purple would be nice.”

“Purple’s for girls,” he grumbled. “And, I’m not that feminine.”

“To me you are,” I smiled.

Zara waved us off while she laughed. “Get out of here. Eris, keep that if you need.”

We walked away and Dallas followed me out of the library. While walking, he switched hands and palmed my backside with his strong grip.
“Hey!”

Dallas gave me an innocent look. “Ass is class, hun.”

I rolled my eyes when he tried to kiss my cheek. Dallas hooked the side of my neck and planted a big kiss on my temple. I made an unattractive groan.
“You love me,” he whispered against my skin.

“Who says? I could be playing,” I grumbled, playfully pushing him off.

“Oh, don’t fib to yourself. So, how did the circle go?”

“AMAZING! I almost freaked out when it almost touched me!”

Dallas frowned. “What is the ‘it’?”

“Energy,” I smartly answered.

“Ah, that. How’d it go for Tao?”

“Great, she really liked it. And, to purify, we used the lavender Nana gave me for Christmas, and found some eucalyptus.”

“Huh, cool. Do me a favor: cast me a circle with red candles and tell me how it goes.” Dallas flashed his half smile.

“No, baby.” I pushed his arm. “You have to do it for yourself, tell me how it goes. I’ll even help you.” I smiled up into his regular blue eyes.

“But that’s too much wooooork.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and we continued walking. Dallas stopped in front of the glass doors of the dorms, then looked down at me. He handed the book over.
“Damn,” I huffed as it dropped into my arms.

“Do you want me to carry it up? You’re kinda weak, Avatar.” Avatar was his nickname for me because I controlled the Elements, but Air was my favorite. Dallas stuck his hands out for the book and I just kicked his leg. “Ow, what the sh—”

“Hah. What’s that you said to me that one day… Don’t be a smartass, it triggers others to be an even smarter ass. Now I’m gonna say something: Don’t be a smartass, it triggers people to kick you!”

Dallas rolled his eyes before claiming my mouth. He cupped my neck as he bent down… pulling me closer to his delicious lips. We were standing by one of the picnic tables, so I put the book down and reacted with my arms around his shoulders.
“God, I want sex,” Dallas moaned.

“Not appropriate,” I giggled, gently nibbling his lower lip.

Dallas stuck his tongue into my mouth and I let out a quiet moan. He cupped my ass, then effortly lifted me off of the ground. I could tell he had been drinking cold water because his tongue felt like ice in my mouth, but it was the type of feeling that made my tummy flutter, and my heart become more of his. I wrapped my legs around his waist and Dallas slid his hands under my shirt, cupping my breasts and working his hand under my bra. He managed to squeeze my nipples, which made me wetter and my moaning get louder.
“Come back with me,” Dallas said on my lips. He teased his tongue on the hoops in my ear, and I groaned his name in pleasure.

“I’m sorry. But, I gotta go,” I smiled.

Dallas kissed my ear and whispered, “Fine, I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye,” I smiled. He let me go and I walked up to my dorm.

Our hallway was pretty quiet, and Tao was laying down in her bed with a Sprite in her left hand. She looked up then nodded.
“Hey,” I wiggled my fingers.

“Hey. What’d you get at the library?” she asked. I handed her the Spirit book. “Oh, makes sense.”

“Yeah. What really makes sense is some sleep.”

I quickly showered, then came back out to lay down. Boing jumped onto my pillow and laid on my face. Her white fur got into my teal hair, and she decided to rest her tail on my neck.
“Can you move?” My voice was muffled by her body.

Eiee-ei-eeeie.

“Is that a no?”

Ei-ei-eeeeeeeeie!

Okay, that’s a no. By time Boing got back to bed, I was gasping for air and trying not to choke on her butt. I moved her to the side a bit then took the desired breaths. From across the room, Tao had her head propped up on her wrist while she watched me suffer.
“Damn,” I breathed.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re dying,” she giggled.

“Maybe I am.”

Tao laid down and Boing scooched her tush onto my shoulder. It took me a while to get over the fact that Boing had her ass all on me, but I eventually blacked out and fell into the world of my dreams.
====
Another great sleep, but terrible awakening. I was in the climax of my dream when my phone invaded. I was swimming in the middle of the ocean, with sharks circling around me, and I was following after a mermaid who looked exactly like my mother. The faint, muffled, distorted sound of the annoying tri-tone from my cellphone made me start to choke on water, and that’s when I woke up. I grabbed the device and saw who it was.
“Hey, Dad,” I sighed.

“Hello, are you still sleeping? You’re too young to sleep so late,” he replied. (Sounded a lot like my last dream.)

“Eh, yeah, what desires my attention?”

Before Dad could answer, I realized that Tao was on the phone with her mom. Lying down in the same position as me, and answering the same damn questions.
“Tao should be talking with Sumiko, but we need you two down at Ria. 42, we have something,” he explained.

“Okay.” We said our goodbyes then hung up.

I made my way blurrily to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water, trying to shock some awake into me. Tao walked in, then did the exact same thing. We brushed our teeth together, brushed our hair in the mirror and freshened up to leave.

Tao pulled on some low-rise jeans, with a crocheted top and her boots. I put on my shorts, a Nike tee shirt and wrapped my hair in a high ponytail. We quickly left the dorms and headed to our parents at the high school. Entering the front foyer, I could see Dad descending the right staircase from the upper-Professor floor.
“Hi, girls.” He bent down and kissed us both. “Upstairs.”

“Are we gonna be like, temporary Professors?” Tao muttered.

“Or guinea pigs,” I added.

“That second one,” Dad smiled. He opened the big glass door and we ducked under his arm into the hallway. Dad led us down the never-ending hallway, all the way to an open door where Chryseis, Sumiko and Professor Nolan were talking.
“Hello,” Tao and I half-stated, half-asked.

“Merry meet.” Chryseis bowed to us. “If you’re wondering why I’m here: it’s because I was the one to ask Nolan.”

“Oh, Chryseis, taking all the credit,” Sumiko laughed and winked at her.

“Hello, girls.” Professor Nolan crossed to us and shook our hands. He had dull yellow hair, with the brightest yellow eyes like a dragon. With an affinity for Reptiles, he had a Maxi on his neck that reminded me of scales, and I loved looking at it. “I know about your powers, and I think I can help,” he said.

Tao raised an eyebrow but I spoke first: “The thought ritual?”

“That’s it. It’s like a polygraph test, but, not all answers have to be verbal. I’ll be able to see your thoughts and words, it’s pretty fun to watch and fun to experience.” Nolan gave us a light smile. For a guy almost 6”10, he was like a cuddly giant. (Rian men were fucking tall, I had no idea why it was necessary.)

“Oh. Okay,” Tao and I dumbly said.

Nolan looked at our parents and Chryseis. “Er vew jiu zau quero?” They nodded and Nolan turned back to us. “Follow me.”

I directed Tao to the door and we followed Nolan out of the Professor hall. Very tall was all I could say to describe him. Anyway, he took us downstairs and through the halls toward the extra courtyard back there. Nolan pushed open the steel doors, and we were welcomed to an open concrete Yard—much bigger than our regular ones. I knew this place was used for rituals and whatnot.

“Sit on two sides,” Nolan said.

Tao went right; I went left (dominant hand). Nolan uncloaked a small table and I could see the stuff on the top: a candle, a knife and… I had no idea what that mason jar was for.

“Okay, girls. I wanna explain a few things before y’all freak. First, the candle is so I can recite the ritual, second, the knife is for blood, third, the jar is literally for catching important thoughts—” hold up, did he say catch our thoughts?! Nolan turned to me.

“Yes, I did, Eris.” (I knew the Professors could technically read minds—one of the reasons I was such a bad liar to Dad.) “Now, I’m gonna need a strand of hair from you two. Or, are your precious locks too important?” he grinned.

Tao plucked a small hair from her hair, I did the same. Nolan brought them to the table and smiled. “Now comes the blood. Arms or hands.”

I stuck my hand out and he pricked my finger; it stung, but the blade felt kinda good. Nolan dabbed the scarlet line with his own finger, then smeared it on his wrist. And the exact same with Tao. He stood behind the table once more, then began:
“Ner awq loh b’pina, sir fsut ca xixi munn,” Nalan pricked his own finger with the blade. “Dfe de dugn d’sance. Ca huj ecza Perlo!” Wow. I shivered and that was the last thing I remembered.

In what felt like two minutes later, I sat back up and looked directly at Tao. Before I could say anything, Nolan spoke, “Good to have you back, don’t say a word. Just think.”

I didn’t say anything. Tao looked at me and my mouth dropped…. her thoughts were floating around her in purple, blue and white.

Eris? Do you feel weird? Nolan, why does my head hurt? Damn, my head feels like shit. I need to talk.

She was looking back at me with the same expression. So I had thoughts, too?! Damn! Nolan cleared his throat and sat down between us.
“Girls, I want you to say one word a piece. See what happens,” he sighed.

“Hi,” Tao quickly replied. The word came out in a shimmery, sapphire blue fog.

“Eris.” The same fog appeared in front of me! Haha, this was fun!

“Okay, say four bad words. Cursing or a negative word,” Nolan said.

“Bad. Fuck. Lonely. Upset.” My words came out in a dull, dark silver fog.

“Good. Tao, say four things that are either happy or uplifting.” Nolan turned his eyes to her.

“Flowers. Ice. Dogs. Rainbows,” Tao’s words came out in a cute, fairy purple color. She smiled.

Nolan stood up then went back behind the table. “Since your powers are gone, we’re gonna use this to assist on getting them back. So, say or think anything you want, but, it has to be related to your power or any theories y’all have about them being missing. Get it, got it, good?”

“Get it, got it, good,” we repeated, admiring the blue fog. Nolan quickly sat the jar between our bodies then stepped back. I started thinking about how my powers got taken away, or how Tao’s did.

Two hours later, I was sitting in my bed and listening to music when there was a knock on the door.
“What?” I called out.

There were five rhythmic knocks—that was Giovanni. I quickly got up then swung the door open.
“Hey,” she signed.

I was shocked to see Dallas behind her.
“He wants to hang.” Giovanni exaggerated the signs then gave a sexual gesture.

“Oh so inappropriate,” I laughed.

She looked up at Dallas and he bowed to her.
“Thanks,” he said.

“Anytime.” (Giovanni could talk, but she liked to sign more.)

Dallas let her pass by then stepped into my dorm; he let out a wolf whistle. I hit his back.
“Grow up,” I grumbled.

“Damn, girl.” He pointed at the soccer posters above my bed, and the Fire/Water/Earth/Air ones by my closet. Dallas was gazing at the Hope Solo poster when Boing nuzzled his leg, making him jump back with a startled expression.

“Awh, you’re such a girl.” I bent down and picked up Boing. “It’s called a chinchilla: slightly bigger than a ground squirrel, and, her name is Boing. Hold her.” Dallas gently took Boing and she started exploring his neck area.

I had to change, so I yanked off my top and ran to the closet. Over the rows and rows of clothes, I just picked a basic white tee shirt then tossed my hair behind my shoulders. Dallas was sitting on my bed, laughing and playing with Boing while she scurried over the bedspread.
“Okay, we can go,” I announced.

Dallas looked at me. “Can we stay here?”

“Baby, you know you’re gonna be in a dorm… With 17 and 18 year old girls… Who like dicks… And you’re old…”

“I am not old, does it look like I have wrinkles? And, okay,” he chuckled. “But, can we bring this along?” Dallas waved at Boing like she was some grand prize.

I nodded and he sprang up with Boing in his left hand. Dallas waved to Mikey and Mumble then shut the door behind us. As we walked downstairs, I told him about Nolan performing the ritual on Tao and I.
“Hey, I want something to drink,” I said.

Dallas redirected me to the kitchen and I went to the fourth fridge. I could tell some of the girls were watching us talk; I felt their intense glares.
“Are you ready?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah, sure.” I took one last gulp of my brown pop then kicked the can into the recycling bin.

Dallas led me out of the glass doors and the cool breeze hit me. Very refreshing cool breeze. Since our pets could find us easily If they ever ran off, Dallas sat Boing onto the ground and she walked the other way as Dallas headed toward Ria. 200.
“So,” I asked, “what are we gonna be doing?”

“A walk,” Dallas replied.

“A walk? Since when do we go walking together? Is that like, some date?”

“No. It’s called I’m tired of not seeing the sun, so a walk.” He huffed out of his nose at me.

“Oh. Okay, walks are fun.” I smiled and tried to kiss his temple but Dallas pulled back.

He walked ahead then started running through the trees. I weaved around, and I saw him maneuver through the trees on my left.
“Dallas, it’s not funny,” I laughed.

“Then why are you laughing?” His sexy voice came from behind.

I stood still as he approached. “Because I can laugh at myself.”

Dallas snaked his arms around my midriff and pulled me back to him. He bent my head back, then kissed me good and hard.
“Hola,” I smiled up.

“Hey, Avatar. Come on,” he said as he let go of me. Dallas slipped his finger into the waistband of my shorts and kept me close while we walked further into the trees. Ten minutes into the walk, I slipped my hand under the hem of his tee shirt, and caressed his warm skin while Dallas attempted to push me off.
“Stop,” he grumbled.

“Why?” I purred, moving lower to his groin.

Dallas eventually pushed me off, so I walked with a big pout on, trying to make him give in.

He gave me a gigantic kiss when I noticed we had made it to the stream. The stream had two sides, and we were on the other side from where Aya started coughing and dying. But, this side had a massive hill behind us, and I could easily jump into the water. I was skipping rocks when I felt his hands on my shirt.
“Ah, what’re you—” the shirt came over my head. Dallas shoved my back.

“Get in,” he said.

“Baby, I don’t want to—”

He picked me up and I kicked my feet into the air, making my sandals fall to the grass. “Dallas! Stoppp!” Dallas brought me into the water and I gasped at how cold it felt on my warmed skin.

He put me on my feet but I was waving my arms around like an idiot at how gelid the water was. Dallas had his shirt off, and I was trying not to stare as I warmed up to the water.
“Have you ever been in here before?” Dallas asked, lightly pushing water on my stomach.

“No, but I’m guessing you have,” I replied.

Dallas nodded. “Come here, I wanna show you something.”

He took a few steps away into the water, but I hesitated before following. Dallas led me further downstream, until the water was just at the curve of my covered breasts. He went over to the wall then turned around to me.
“How long can you hold your breath?”

“1 minute, 23 seconds,” I replied. (Last time my friends took me swimming, we had a contest… And I was on the swim team for six years.)

“Okay. I’m gonna grab your hand, and you have to come under with me,” he explained. I nodded and Dallas grabbed my hand under the water. He dove under and I swam after him into a small, opening under the big rock wall. He popped up, so did I.

“Where the hell are we?” I panted, slicking my hair behind my shoulders.

“No one except for me and the Twins know this is here,” Dallas gently said.

The water came up to my shoulders, but Dallas had a bit of an advantage. He leaned back against the wall then looked at me. The space was big enough for probably two more people to fit in, the rock ceiling was about 7 feet up, and the water rushed into the walls.
“How do you know about this?” I asked.

“I used to come here all the time, when I still lived with the bitches,” he mumbled, looking around the water.

“Ya mean, Dayton and Dakota?”

He nodded. “I don’t come a lot, but, I make sure no one else finds it.” He smiled at me. “I guess you’re another person to know.”

“I guess,” I smiled back.

He crossed over to me and pushed me back against the cold stone, brushing his lips over mine and pressing flat against my body. (Thank God I was tall because I would probably be struggling to keep my head above the rushing water.) Dallas peered down at my bra; his lip curled into a smile.
“I’ll save you for later,” he said.

“Later? Psh,” I pushed the side of his face.

Dallas kissed my chest then whispered, “You taste good.”

I couldn’t say anything. His finger was trailing down my stomach, stopping to trace my Maxi and play with my navel. Dallas put his hand on my nape then started to kiss my neck, using his tongue to tease my skin.
“Baby… Mmm,” I moaned, running my fingers through his hair.

From the water, I could really feel how hard Dallas was—and how his dick was pushing into my lower stomach. I reached down, then softly massaged him through the fabric of his shorts. Before I could even wiggle into his boxers, Dallas stopped me.
“W-wait,” he said. I looked into his eyes (which were dark brown at the moment), and saw the lust in his soft pupils. “Follow me. I know somewhere.”

Dallas let his erection settle then led us out of the cave, and back out into the stream. He swam over to the shore and lifted himself out of the water, then turned around and helped me out.
“There’s a place up here,” Dallas said. He looked at the hill that had tall trees and grass and plants growing, then grabbed my hand so we could run. In a matter of minutes, Dallas had me at the top of the hill and kissing on my neck.

He cupped my ass, and ran his hand between my legs. I’d never imagined having sex outside, but with Dallas, I knew that it would be fun. He gently pushed me onto the ground then laid on top of me. Dallas grinded his hard on into me, putting his hand on the side of my neck to hold me still as he sucked and nipped on my racing pulse.
“Ahhh, babe… Ohh,” I panted, locking my legs on his back.

Dallas pulled back a bit and, with the gentlest touch, he unhooked my bra and pushed it off my shoulders to let my bobbs spill out. He didn’t pay much attention to my breasts before moving down my stomach to give my Maxi open mouthed kisses. He used his tongue to trace a pattern around my navel, with my hands on either side of his head and my hips grinding on his mouth.

One thing I’d never seen on Dallas before last week was his tattoo. Not his Maxi, but when he was 18, he got a tattoo of a horseshoe behind his left ear. Dallas usually cloaked it so no one saw, but he must’ve forgotten that day. And hell, I liked a guy with ink.

I lifted my ass a bit, and Dallas eased my shorts down my legs then threw them to the side. My already soaking wet pussy was heated and leaking with my juices for him; Dallas teased by rubbing me through my panties.
“Mmm,” I quietly panted, biting my lip and tilting my head back.

He dug his fingers into me a bit, and I almost freaked from how good it felt. A good two minutes into doing that, Dallas eased my panties to the side and played with my clit, lightly tapping and rubbing me. He snatched my panties down in one grab, then rubbed his thumb over my damp folds. I was gonna say something, all until he was pushing his finger a few centimeters into my me and wiggled around.

My mouth was open, but there was no sound. Dallas started massaging my tit in one hand, while he teased me with the other. As he grazed and maneuvered around all my damp pussy and aching flesh I went a little crazy; I arched my back high and moaned his name aloud. His fingertips forced into my pussy, but Dallas would pull back out then rub my thighs. He worked my boob in circles, pinching and playing with my nipples every few seconds or so. Dallas waited… he paused… stopped moving. Then it happened.

His finger pushed all the way into me, and I gasped at the sudden feeling, and he squeezed my chest again. Dallas had his middle finger pumping into me, to make me feel just right and just turned on. But, his hand was massaging me like never before; with a strong grip and his finger toying with my nipple. Dallas added another finger, then that was all I needed to start moaning and screaming again.
“Aghhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhh!”

If someone heard us, it was highly unlikely that they’d find us, because the place was completely concealed by trees. Dallas let out a moan with me when my pussy contracted, and he added another finger. Damn. His hand was vigorously squeezing and touching my breast, and honestly, I needed to touch myself too. I moved my hand down to my clit, and I rubbed myself harder as his fingers rapidly pumped into me. To have Dallas fingering me…. massaging my breasts…. and making me feel so, empowered. Dallas always touched me how he wanted, but he knew what made me hot (I mean, he did take my virginity and he taught me what he liked). As his fingers curled inside of me, I was moaning and exploring my body just as he was.

I placed my hand atop his, and squeezed and caressed my breasts. And hell, this felt good! Especially how Dallas was touching me. While he touched me, Dallas kissed on my stomach and played with my Maxi; his tongue trailed up the ink and to the curve of my breasts. He teased by lightly kissing on my areola, then moving back down.
“Dallas,” I half-panted, half-laughed.

He didn’t answer or react. Dallas pulled his fingers from inside of me and I opened my mouth to protest, but Dallas started kissing my inner thighs. He got closer and closer to my awaiting sex, but Dallas was trying his hardest not to touch, shit, he was teasing too much! And it felt kinda good…. I put my hands in his almost-white hair and forced him closer to my pussy. Dallas reached under me then pinched my outer thigh to make me stop.
“Mmm, please,” I begged. Dallas continued his torturous kisses on my legs. All while this torture was going on, Dallas’ cock was probably aching him to be freed; he’d been hard for a while. With a quick swoop of my leg, I pinned Dallas onto his back and bent down to his waist. Pushing my hair to the side so he could have a better view, I undid his jeans (being careful not to hurt the vital parts of his anatomy) and released the prize I’d been waiting for.

I kept my eyes locked on his as I took a long, teasing lick at his shaft. Dallas tossed his head back then let out a groan; I was getting him riled up… His eyes drew back to mine and I teased the tip with a big kiss. Okay, I knew Dallas hated teasing, and I deliberately looked at him with a sexy gleam in my eyes, and kept him waiting for me to suck him dry. He balled a fist in my hair as I swirled my tongue down his length. I was getting tired of the teasing as much as he, so I wrapped my hand around his thick cock and took him into my mouth. Dallas caressed my hair, and I could feel his body detense.

I used my tongue to lick the underside while my lips devoured more and more of him, all while pumping my fist after my mouth. I started to bob my head, and Dallas moaned to imply his satisfaction.
“Stop,” he firmly said. I wasn’t expecting that, but I lifted my eyes to his and sucked more.

Dallas tightened his grip in my hair then pulled me away from his cock. Fuck. I climbed up his body, straddled his hips and looked into his flaming blue eyes. As I sank down onto his hard shaft, we both let out different curse words, and I planted my hands flat on his chest. My hips slowly rocked on him, but Dallas was thinking something different; he grabbed my hips and starting ramming into me.
“Ughhhh, Dallas! Fuck, I’m cumming!”

Wow, was I that easy with him? Well, Dallas did get me close when he fingered me, and that blowjob had me on edge.

As my orgasm hit, I didn’t want to sound like I was dying, so I clamped my hand down over my mouth to stifle my reaction as the world kaleidoscoped into brilliant color in every direction. Dallas grabbed my hands and I had to scream out. He must’ve been getting close because Dallas slammed into me harder. So hard that I had to grip the grass beneath us to keep from falling. I scoochied a bit higher, so Dallas started licking and playing with my boobs.

Dallas used his teeth to lightly nibble on me, and his tongue to trace my areola. My hair was falling over my arm, but Dallas’ tongue was killing me; rolling and teasing and flicking my nipple.
His hands firmly squeezed my midriff as he moaned out his orgasm. And I was reaching another. In less than three seconds, I was yelling his name all while announcing my climax, and his cum shot high inside of my womb.

My chest was flat against his; I could barely breathe as I rode wave after wave of passion and lust and relaxation running out of my body. He caught his breath and said, “That’s another thing off my bucket list: have an amazing orgasm outside.”

I hit his chest before saying, “Shush. Hurry, we need to go and get our other stuff.”

I craned my neck, then reached over Dallas’ waist and grabbed my panties. He was trying not to stare while I slid them on, but it was kinda obvious to see his green eyes cutting into my body.
“Dallas, are you staring?” I said over my shoulder.

“Just a little, but, it’s no big deal.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

I quickly stepped into my shorts and pulled on my bra then turned around to him. He finished pulling his jeans back on then jerked his head toward the trees. Dallas led the way back down the hill, keeping his fingers interlock with mine. We stopped at the end of the grassy area.
“Walk or swim?” Dallas asked.

“Swim.” If anything, I was not going to walk over taking a nice dip.

“Since you say so…” Dallas pushed me into the cold water (it felt especially cold since I was raw from the sex).

I clenched my teeth then let out a hiss. “Get in, I can’t take all the suffering,” I said.

Dallas took his sweet time getting back into the water, obviously attempting to make me suffer even more. After he was in, I quickly dove under then swam the other way with him behind me. In five short minutes, we were where we first came in, and I could see our loose clothing articles. Dallas tossed my shirt to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I yanked it down over my head. We stepped into our shoes and shook our wet bodies (I was more like a cat; Dallas was a dog).

“Come on.” He jerked his hand out to me and I proceeded by wrapping my arm under his. Dallas smelt good. Really good. And his hair was still wet from the water, and it made him look younger. No matter how sexy and mountainous Dallas was, he always reminded me of a little kid; he just had this little spark. Especially that dimple in his right cheek; it made his smile brighter and younger. As we walked, he started a conversation:
“What are you doing later?”

I thought for a second. “Nothing really, probably watch a movie.”

“Hm. Okay,” Dallas flatly said. (If someone asks a question like that, shouldn’t they offer to hang out?) I was thinking about my question when Dallas asked, “Do you want to come over?”

“I’d love to.” I grinned but he just rolled his eyes. “When did you ever become so generous?”

Dallas gave my butt a hard smack (he was really an ass guy). He broke from my embrace, then turned around to me and walked backwards.
“I’ve been generous all my life. I just don’t need any help,” Dallas smirked.

“Oh, please. You’re as generous as a rock,” I laughed, trying to throw him off—which I did.

“A rock? How don’t you know that rocks are really nice, they just don’t like you?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly. We don’t know if you’re actually nice, we just know that you’re a smartass.”

Dallas rolled his eyes and we continued walking.
====
Tao ran her cold fingers through my hair. “What the hell?!” I whispered.
“It was messed up,” she mouthed.

It was Monday, and we were sitting in Riate, listening to Brice talk about someone’s mom. The classrooms were all designed like the ones in college: a bunch of stairs, a gigantic-ass row of seats. And, we always sat in the last row back. Tao kicked her feet onto the desk and I gave her a sharp look; she pulled them down.

After Riate, the rest of the day zoomed by, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the library with all five of my books open on the table. In Spirit, I was reading about how it’s almost like a natural high when I cast a circle. Air was telling me about the power to “mist” myself—when I think about being invisible, and I pretty much become invisible. The thing that shocked me the most was what the back said:

Any and all of the Elements together will give one eternal powers…. Tusnced.

It said it was in another book! I trotted off to the front desk then smiled at Zara.
“Yes, darling?” she nonchalantly said. Her nose was in another book.

“Okay, uhm, I need a book. And, I think it is called Tusnced, for all of the powers,” I beamed. Another power would be so cool.

“Oh!” Zara tossed her book to the side and stood up. “Follow me, I’ll show you.” She waved a hand out and I followed her to the back room.

Bookshelves was all I saw. Dizam. I knew there were more books, but gosh! And Zara had read every single one—cover to cover! She walked me to a far bookshelf then sauntered down the narrow aisle. Zara stopped in front of frivehugic-thick books and seized them from the shelf.

“Tusnced, Reaxced, Quacvced, Fzaesced and Lopced. I highly suggest you finish these soon, they’ll be much help to you. I know you’re a bit troubled with non-existent powers, but, they’ll always come back. Here,” she smiled.

I thought I was holding a live human. “Thank you,” I weakly smiled. “Now, I’m gonna leave before I die of muscle strain.”

Zara chuckled as I quickly left the back room. Kicking the door closed behind me, I headed back to my work area, and I saw Dad down the bookshelf aisle. He was searching for something particular. I sat the books down then ran down to him.
“Hi.” I smiled.

Dad glanced at me. “Hello, Eris. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be finishing homework—”

“Finished. Now I’m studying.”

“Oh, ok. Well, you’re a bookworm, so, what are you studying? It has to be something interesting,” Dad smiled. His green eyes sparkled at me.

“My powers. Ya remember how Tao and I cast the circles? Well, I added Spirit, and, now I’m curious and reading the books Zara gave me. Oh, there’s another power that has to do with them, but that comes when I’m older.”

Dad nodded as he grabbed a book. “Hmph, that’s good.” He grinned at me. “Did you tell Nolan happy birthday?”

“32 and counting, though he looks 18,” I winked up at Dad.

“Eris, you must be attracted to older men.”

My eyes got wide, but Dad kept his gaze light-hearted, and I could see he was trying to hide a smile. “Dad! Not appropriate,” I scoffed, playfully punching his arm.

“You’re right, that wasn’t nice. Well, do you remember my 22-year rule?” he asked.

“OhmyGod, Dad. Please stop.” I cradled my face in my hands. I took a deep breath then answered, “No babies, or cutting my hair until I’m 22.”

Dad patted my shoulder. “Bingo. Now, I have to go and meet with a Prof. Bye, kiddo.” He kissed my cheek and left.

Damn, I really hated his rules. No, let me reword that: that rule got annoying. Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna have any baby-Daddy-drama for sure, I did not want that type of life. And, I liked my hair like this. Thinking about how I’d appear with short hair, I walked back to my table and got back to the books. Hell, these four new books would take twice as long to read; I was estimating a mere 2,000 pages—long-ass pages–full of Riate terms. But, it still had some english. Twenty or so minutes into reading Reaxced, my phone buzzed loudly on the glass table.
Dallas: Where r u?

I snatched up my phone and replied.

Me: Not with u.
Dallas: Answr me
Me: Library
Dallas: good. I’ll b there

(Sigh) And, here comes Dallas. I replied then sat my phone back onto the table, continuing on my page. A few minutes later, there was a hand covering my eyes and a sexy humming over my head.
“Dallas…” I irritably said.

“Hello,” he replied, bending down and kissing my lips.

Dallas released me then went to the chair diagonally from me. I gave a fake smile and continued reading.
“May I ask what you’re reading?” he asked.

“No,” I flatly replied.

“That’s cool.” Dallas swiped a book from the table and started reading. “Why—”

“Ya know,” I interrupted, “for a man who doesn’t go to school, you sure as hell like to come to the library… and annoy me.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Eris. You make me proud, but, I wanted to know why you’re reading these. These have nothing to do with your strength.”

“Katniss, I didn’t ask for your input.”

“No, I was an archer before Katniss made it cool. But, would that make you my Peeta?”

“Yeah, I’m the one who choked you,” I grumbled.

Dallas bit his lip and shut up. But, he started humming soon after… his leg was going a million miles… and he was talking a lot… and his energy was through the roof…
“Are you okay?” I asked.

His blue eyes shot up. “Yeah, I’m just bored,” Dallas sighed.

“Well, go home and play with the sisters.”

“Govea got back late last night, and, Hannah and Harley don’t like me.” He laughed at himself.

“Oh, sorry. Well—” I sat up straight and put the book back on the table—“you could help me with these books. And, I think you should get an idea to cast your own circle soon.”

“Hell no, Eris. What do I need to cast circle for?”

“Uhm, for a lot of shit. You could rid yourself of smartass, you could be more connected to Archery, or, you could even get Hannah and Harley to be your friends!”

Dallas crossed over to my seat and switched places with me. He sat me in his lap then wrapped his arm around my backside. “Okay,” Dallas sighed. “Read, I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you! And, I’ll go get a book for you,” I squealed, hopping out of his lap and running back to the front desk.

Zara looked up at me as I asked for the book. She handed me a thick book called Lyacve, then I hurried back to Dallas. He had his face in my book, with his forearms resting on his knees. Dallas glanced up. “Got it?”

“Yup, but take it before I die,” I said, passing the large tome to him.

Dallas read a few pages then his eyes got wide as he looked me dead in the eye. “Did you know that I could bless a bow? I did not know that!”

“See? Perks of having an amazing Eris as your girlfriend.” I put my hands beneath my chin and sweetly smiled.

Dallas stuck his tongue out then continued reading.

Two hours later, we were still in the library, reading and noting some enthralling stuff in our books. Hell, I didn’t know that Dallas could read so fast; he made me feel slow. He had two of his own Archery books on the table, and I had mine on my side. I checked my watch: 7:32, so I had a bit of time before curfew. The good thing was that the library wasn’t all that crowded, and I liked the quiet air—except for Zara ruffling around papers a bookshelf behind us. Wait, what?
“Zara?” I called out.

“I’m just checking,” she called back.

“No, we’re not making out,” Dallas added, smiling at me.

I bit my lip then curled up with my book. Honestly, I had no idea that Dallas liked reading; he barely talked while he was focused on the text. Directly at 8:00, we closed our books at the same time.
“Don’t copy me,” I smirked, setting the book on the table.

“I’ll try to more often. So, did you eat?” he asked.

“No. Are you asking to buy me food?” I grabbed my chest and made my mouth a perfect o. “Nooooooo.”

Dallas mimicked me in his cute way. “Yes.”

I smiled then nodded. “I’d love to eat with you. Are you gonna take them books home?”

“Those, proper grammar.” Dallas made a face. “Yeah, come on.”

“Yeah isn’t a word. It’s yes.”

He curled his lip as we gathered our stuff. I had my cross-over bag with me, so I stuffed my books into it and Dallas carried his under his arm. (We would come off as a nerdy couple.) We said goodbye to Zara, but she was in the back room. Her head popped out.
“Bye, you two. Keep those if you need,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” Dallas replied, stepping through the door with me. We went to the cafe, grabbed some late dinner and talked for a bit before it was 9pm. Dallas walked me back to the dorms, then stopped to sit me down.
“I have to go somewhere soon,” he gently said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Louisiana. My cousin wants to see me, and, hunting. So, I just wanted to tell you before Wednesday—when I leave.”

I rolled my lips in and out. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you when you get back, ” I looked into his brown eyes.

“Yeah—Wait!” Dallas’ outburst scared me a bit. “Go upstairs, change, grab whatever, you’re staying at my place.”

“O-okay, but you didn’t have to scream.” I flicked his head and Dallas smiled. “Give me 10 minutes, and I swear I’ll be back.”

Dallas stood up. “Even better, I’ll head down for you. Hurry up.” He walked the other way and I darted inside.

Five minutes was all I was giving myself to change, grab clothes for tomorrow morning, and put my stuff away. Tao was in her bed, listening to Kenny and on her cellphone. She went bug-eyed when I started removing my clothes and running around.
“What are you doing?”

“Dallas,” I yelled from the closet.

Tao snickered. “Okay. And, don’t be late in the morning or anything. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”

“Got it. Do you have my Domo Kun hoodie?” (We were geeks.)

Tao tossed it from under her bed. I had on a pair of Nike track shorts, with a black tanktop and my hoodie zipped over it, and I had managed to tie my hair into a messy knot. Hell, it was nighttime, it was time to get lazy and not care. Anyway, I grabbed my bag and waved to Tao.
“Have fun.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

I quickly shut the door then sprinted down the hallway. Sneaking out was fairly easy, few to none of the Professors walked around campus at night, and the dorms were close enough to stay hidden in the shadows. But, the only thing stopping me were the Sons of Erebus. I guess Brice and Lena had called them in for something; which meant I couldn’t pass by the mansion (though the mansion was 6 miles out from any other building. But the Sons knew how to cover ground). Lucky me, I had a shortcut through Ria. 200—there was a tree that was struck by lightning a few years back, and the split bark leaned closer toward the apartments. So I ran through the tall oaks until I saw it, then threw my bag over.

Hopping through the tree was easy—not cutting my leg wasn’t.
“Shit!”

Ugh, it really sucked being such a klutz. Anywho, I snatched up my bag then ran to the apartment building. (Aya had told me about the tree.) Knocking on Dallas’ door, I heard something. From next door…. I was about to step over to Bear’s door but Dallas yanked me into the foyer.
“Agh!” I unattractively exclaimed.

“Shush!” Dallas hissed.

I shut up and waited… He roughly pulled me into the bedroom then told me to sit still. I placed my bag on the hook. Dallas reached behind the bed and pushed it to the side a bit.
“Come here. Silently,” he whispered.

I went there. Silently.

He was pressed against my back as we listened through the wall.
“Maybe it was—”

“Shut up! You’re an immature idiot, and you treat everything like a game! You and your brother have no respect for yourselves nor others, and it is very stressing to have one eye on two 21 year-old kids, and the other on others!”

That. Was. Harsh. The first voice had been Bear, and the second to interrupt him was Lena. At least I knew she wasn’t meeting with the Sons.

“Okay,” this was Bull. “Lena, can we please talk to our—”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t care for Chryseis, nor you two. Since when is it rational to eliminate two dragons? Or six gargoyles? It is quite a shame that I can’t come back to campus with a good report; there will always be a set of Twins to piss me off. I hope that we’ll not have this problem again, because there will be extreme consequences.” She slammed a door and departed. (Is this her way of a grand homecoming?)

Two seconds later, Dallas’ front door opened and in came a storm. Bull and Bear weren’t fazed by it, but they weren’t quiet about it, either.
“Bullshit,” Bear grumbled.

“For once in my life, I want to rip someone’s throat out and stomp on them to death,” Bull added.

Dallas stood up. “What does she think you did?”

“2 dragons—”

“—6 gargoyles—”

“—and, stole a sword from Professor Hyllus.”

I barely listened after that. Two dragons, six gargoyles, and even stole something? Hey, Bear might be evil, but he and his brother would never think to do something like that. This was utter and complete bullshit. So much bullshit that I couldn’t even imagine how Chryseis would take it—she’d probably yell or stab them. (Kidding!) Did Brice know about this? Is that why he asked me for Bear late last week? And, when dragons & gargoyles are killed, or when something is stolen, the Professors and Warriors stop at nothing to find out who did it. Damn. Just to think, Lena hasn’t blamed it on anyone except Dallas and the Twins—could there be a reason? Come to think of it, the last time something like this happened, it was a stupid Sio (Junior) who did it. But, she and Brice found out that the girl didn’t know she’d killed the dragon, so they forgave her. It sure as hell wasn’t the same for Dallas or the Twins—Lena just jumped to some silly conclusion to make it them. I mean, I get that they’re older, but, really? And, Lena has been trying to rip my throat out for dating Dallas, and it’s not like I did anything! Right? And, Brice was never the one to alert them! Cruel. That bitch was just cruel. I knew that it wasn’t a coincidence anymore, but Lena was trying to do this. Oh, and why not have it happen when Eris’s best friend loses her powers and they have to cast a circle so their brains don’t explode? WELL, HELL!

“Eris.” I looked up to Bull’s sweet smile. “Two things: do you want me to fix your legs, and, you do know we can hear everything you just thought?”

I nodded and made a face before coming to the edge of the bed. Bull waved his hand over my leg, and once again, I had the warm feeling of doves fluttering around in my stomach. He pulled back and I was fixed up.
“Thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, Domo,” Bull solemnly said.

“Don’t call me Domo, Domo.”

“Don’t you mean homo??” he replied.

“Derogatory term,” I chuckled, following them out of the bedroom.

“Look,” Bear sighed, “Bitch Monster Lena is trying to chew our asses out, especially me. So, Eris, can you use that little, Air power you have to kill her?”

We all sat on the couch and the chairs.

“No,” I answered. “One, I don’t have my powers back. Two, that would only be possible if I was in a circle, then I could help. Three, ask your mom what she thinks. Mothers always have the best perspective—mostly. But, ask her if she thinks you did it. If she says something like, ‘That’s not the point, my point is…,’ then don’t let her talk.”

“And, ask other Professors. They know more than us, so, Lena probably has some secret committee to hate on y’all,” Dallas added.

Bull nodded. “You’re right. Plus, the Sons of Alke, and the Sons of Erebus have been around lately–and they are so hot–so, maybe those dragons and gargoyles being killed is an even bigger deal.”

“I guess.” Bear stood up after his brother. “Eris, get to school on time, we have to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, brother,” I giggled, cuddling up on Dallas’ side.

“And you—” Bull directed his eyes to Dallas “—don’t sleep in. We have to do a bit more tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Dallas said, wrapping his arm around me.

The Twins exited the door then softly pulled it closed. Dallas let out a deep breath.
“Do you think she has a legitimate reason?” I blurted.

“Of course not. Nor does she have the right to say something like that,” he replied. I cupped the side of his neck and Dallas put his hand on my lower back. We sat for a while, then he carried me to the bedroom and tossed me into the bed. Before I could even pull the covers back, Harley and Hannah swopped into the room, with their impressive wings keeping them aloft.
“You two, out,” Dallas barked at them.

Hannah landed on the dresser and cawed at him, Harley got in the chair.

“Xan hsuvo liud nuuw,” Dallas firmly repeated.

They finally got the message then flew out the window and to wherever. Dallas shut the window and looked over at me. I yanked off my Domo hoodie then tossed it to the chair.
“Cute,” he said as he crawled under the covers with me.

“Uhm, shouldn’t you get into your pajamas?” I asked.

“It’s naked or everything, there’s no in between.”

“We can do naked.”

Dallas lightly hit me with a pillow.”Get to sleep before I suffocate you with this,” he joked.

I grabbed another pillow and hit him even harder, but Dallas put his hand on my arm. He pulled me into his tight embrace, hugging me down against the pillow.
“Dallas! I’m gonna die,” I giggled.

“Don’t die, go to bed,” Dallas responded. He pushed into me from behind and laid on his back. I stayed on my stomach, cradling the pillow to my chest.
“Goodnight, Eris.”

“I love you.”

I’m pretty sure that I went to bed before him, because I was out in two seconds.
====
Sahmi was talking about our powers and bodies as we got older. He asked a question,
“What are the three main body types?”

No one raised their hand. Wait… For real?! I raised my hand and Sahmi directed his gaze to me.
“Ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph,” I answered.

“Good. Wanna describe the differences?” Sahmi gave me a secret wink.

“Well, Ectomorphs are lanky, not a lot of body fat, and lean muscles. Mesomorph is medium, ya know, tall and athletic. And, Endomorph is kinda bulky, curvy or even just rounder.”

Most of Rian kids had been in Rianate all their lives, and even the smallest things were so easy to forget, since there were different ways to live here. But, hell, I had almost forgotten them, so, I couldn’t really talk.

Sahmi nodded. “So, you should be able to tell what type you are, all of our bodies are pretty much done growing. And…”

“How did you know that?” Tao whispered to me.

I turned to my left and met her icy eyes. “Magic.” She flipped me off and we continued listening to Sahmi.

After Riate and lunch, then came Art—and it seemed like Verc was in a good mood. But, we honestly never knew with her. She assigned us a project: an abstract painting, using only the colors yellow and blue. With a partner.

Tao spilled some blue paint into our little jar, while I mixed the yellow into hers. We were mixing and talking and preparing to paint when Verc announced something.
“This is a challenge for anyone who wants it: use wax on the canvas. See how that works.”

Wax? Oh! Once, I melted crayons on the lamp at home and the wax got everywhere, but it still came out pretty! I leaned over to Tao.
“Hey, crayons,” I whispered.

“Crayons? Hun, we’re not five,” she quietly chuckled.

“The wax. We can ask Verc for a candle or blow dryer.”

Tao stopped and thought… Her face was priceless. “Yes! Come on, let’s ask.”

We hurried over to Verc’s desk then smiled (we had to be suck-ups for the moment). She looked up with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, girls?”

“Okay, two things: do you have crayons and, a candle or blow dryer?” Tao asked.

“Yes. Is that gonna be your wax?”

“Mmhmm, blue and yellow crayons,” I added.

She stood up. Verc led us to one of the six closets lined on the back wall, and opened the door. Whoa. Who knew there were so many crayon colors?!

Tao chose three dark blues, and four bright yellows; I grabbed two light blues and a golden yellow. Verc shut the door then pointed to another one.
“There are candles, but no blow dryers,” she said.

“Thank you,” we smiled.

I told Tao to get situated at the canvas, and I was to grab the candles. Two people means two candles. Whoa again. In rainbow order, Verc had over 30 candles on the six shelves, and they ranged from short and stubby to talk and skinny. The skinny blue one caught my eye, so I reached in and grabbed it. There was also a skinny yellow one. (Way to follow through with the color.)

I walked back to Tao and nodded. Before Verc had announced the wax, we had smudged blue and yellow shades onto the canvas to rid of any white spots. And Tao had lined the peeled crayons on the top of the canvas, so when the wax melted, it dripped down over the paint.
“Okay.” I smiled then lit the candles. “You’re any color you want.”

“Thanks,” Tao said as she grabbed the blue candle. We barely even had to touch the flame to the crayons for them to start melting blue and yellow wax.

Art was really good (we weren’t done with our wax painting), and Math was just the same. After Math, Dallas texted me to come to his place so we could hang out once more before he left. Alright. I skipped Affinity Hour (like I had been doing for a month) then walked down to Ria. 24.

I walked in through Dallas’ door and heard how annoyed he was.
“Harley, I will be happy to deep fry you,” Dallas groaned.

Harley “yelled” back at him.

“I’m older! What are you gonna do about it, run off to Hannah?!”

Caaaaaaaghhw.

“It’s not gonna be funny when you’re on a plate… And all of your precious little feathers are plucked off from your body… And some weirdo in Kansas wants to eat you for dinner!”

I was standing in the doorway of the bow room, listening and watching them argue. Harley was trying to touch the bow Dallas was holding, but Dallas kept swatting his talon. He literally looked like a little kid trying to touch the water with his toe, but he didn’t know if it was warm or cold.
“Stop it, Harley!” Dallas exclaimed.

Caweeeeeagh.

“You eat vulture vomit!”

Cagghhhhhhh.

Harley flew up and practically screamed at Dallas. They reminded me of dysfunctional brothers: always arguing, hate each other, hurt each other, but they did everything together. Dallas put the bow back, Harley mimicked him by moving his gigantic wings out. Dallas turned around and waved at me, Harley turned his neck and lifted a wing at me.
“Vulture vomit?” I grimaced.

“Yeah, it is disgusting.” Dallas kissed my nose. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, kinda mad that you have to leave.”

“Sorry. But, a week without Harley is heaven.”

Harley made a grunting sound then flew out of the room. He really hated Dallas.
“So,” I said, “what are you doing?”

“Choosing one to take,” he answered.

“Hmm. Pick a color: red or black?”

Dallas thought for a second. “Red.”

I grabbed his bow with red bolts. Dallas made a “duh” sound as he took them.
“Thanks, that was easier than I thought,” he smiled.

“No need to thank me. Just worship me,” I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Dallas gave me a big kiss and squeezed my ass in his large hand. I broke away.
“Have you seen my hoodie? I think I left it,” I said.

“I dunno.” Dallas pulled away and walked out to the living room. “With Harley and Hannah, anything they find is automatically theirs. So, don’t count on finding it.”

“Eh, whatever. Can I—”

“Eris, you’ve asked enough questions. Shzhh.” Dallas waved his hands in my face.

“Well, gosh. Anywho, I was asking to ask you a question. So, may I ask another question so I can stop asking questions and we’ll be question-free?”

“What do you possibly want,” he flatly sighed.

I smiled. “Wait, so I can ask the question?”

“Eris!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But, I was just asking if you seriously want to cast a circle. Ya know, I’ve got this shit down. And, I think I’m casting one next month, or, whenever I have some free-time.”

“Well,” Dallas said, “that’s great, but, I don’t need one. Why can’t I just watch you?” He grinned, looking like a handsome little boy.

“No, Dallas. Do you know how awkward it is to have some idiot staring you down while you’re trying to concentrate?”

“Just block me out.”

I looked him dead in the eyes, and Dallas stared back harder. He hit my arm and I blinked.
“Damnit!”

“Haha,” Dallas smirked, poking my shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” I frowned.

He kissed my forehead then sat back on the couch. I wrapped my arms around his neck as Dallas cut on the tv; he rested a warm hand on my thigh. As I adjusted my body on the cushion, I reached behind my back and grabbed the pen that was secured on my belt loop. I had been drawing on my hand in Math, but I forgot to take the pen off. I hovered over my hand and finished the doodle I had started. I covered the entire back of my hand with a detailed drawing of a sacred heart; it was a design I’d been sketching since I was eleven. It had flames dancing up the back, a crown of thorns on top of it, a spray of roses along the bottom, and in the center I drew a scrolling banner with my name in the center. Dallas peaked over and seized my hand.
“Wow, that’s good. Nice,” he frowned in approval.

I bit my lip. “That’s not even half of what I started in class.” I rolled my sleeve up and Dallas chuckled.

“You should be a tattoo artist; you have a lot of creativity buried inside of you.”

“That’s actually my dream job.” I smiled and Dallas stroked my bare thigh. His hand went higher up, up until I gasped at his warm touch by my covered sex.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop here,” Dallas chuckled. He brought his hand back down and I sighed. That sigh made the rest of my body realize how tired I was, so I sprawled out on his chest and Dallas put his hand on my hip.

“Good afternoon,” I yawned.

“Good afternoon, Avatar,” he laughed.

My eyes shut on instinct, and I only paid attention to the beat of Dallas’ heart. Bum… bum… bum… bum… zzzzzzz.
====
END OF PART 5
I ended the story with Eris sleeping because I didn’t want to blow your brains out with boring shit. This part isn’t all that important, and I didn’t just want to bullshit it. Part 6 will definitely be up tomorrow night.

-L11

---

The clock was ticking at the same beat of my fingers tapping on the desktop. Tick, tock, Eris. Tip, Tap, Eris. You’re gonna ace this test—hopefully. And right now was one of those times that I knew I was gonna massacre. Easy stuff, we learned the majority of it that month, so, it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Okay,” Nanaya announced. “You all may begin.”

Eris Faye was the first thing I scribbled down. Tao tapped me on my hand and I looked over to see her icy blue eyes all confused. I wrote down the answer to number one; she hit herself on the forehead, mouthing, “Duh.” For a five-page test, it was fairly easy to finish in less than 90 minutes and have on Nanaya’s desk.

After History was over, Tao raced down with me to Body Science so we could ask Sahmi about our next quiz. When we got in, Sahmi was sitting on top of the desk, with a pencil floating in front of his face. His affinity was Gravity, and it was amazing to watch him.
“Sahmi?” Tao blurted.

“My ears are open and my eyes are directed on yours,” Sahmi replied, looking directly into Tao’s eyes and snatching the pencil out of the air.

“U-uh—”

“She wants to know about our upcoming quiz,” I snickered, finishing her beautiful sentence.

Sahmi made a face. “Sa quf pors whi acneme duso?” Translated to English, that meant: “And, what would you like to know about the quiz?”

“What type of questions there are,” Tao answered. “I don’t like multiple choice because it messes me up, and writing is a big no, my nails are mucho too importanto!”

He chuckled at her “accurate” Spanish. “Well, Tao, see me after class, we’ll figure something out.” Sahmi winked at her just before the bell rang.

We darted to our seats then pulled out the assignment Sahmi wanted us to do in our textbooks. Following Body Science, I went to Riate and Brice called me over to his desk… What did I do?!

“Hello,” I said, showing the sign of respect.

“Hello, Eris. Uhm, have you seen Caine Prath lately?” he asked.

“Yeah, just yesterday. Why?”

“Lena needs him. Thank you, Goddess, merry part.”

(I loved how they referred to us as Gods and Goddess.) I ran off to my seat, then Tao walked in with a late pass to Brice. She joined me in the back and put her feet up on the desk.

As class progressed, I had a thought of Aya and did I ever give her that necklace. It was late January, and Tao and I had moved on with crying ourselves to sleep about Aya; we knew better than being little brats about it. Two weeks ago, we spread her ashes in my backyard, so we always knew where she was and how we could be connected to her. That was one thing I was happy about, others, not so much.

My Elements still weren’t working, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as last month. Turns out, the Elements made my reflexes stronger (I have no idea why) and it made me super alert during class. So, that was good. And, Dallas had been so good to me, like always. After Riate, we had lunch (walking tacos) then headed off to Art, and I was super happy because Verc was in a good mood. She had us create an abstract painting of what our affinity was in our own eyes; not what it was meant to be or what other people thought.

So, I splattered red and blue and white and green paint on the canvas, then used my pinky finger to swirl it around. The colors actually looked great, the white made everything a tad lighter. Just to be more creative, I even threw in some teal to describe myself. Verc had been circulating the room, but when she saw me, she stopped.
“Amazing work, Eris,” Verc grinned.

“You like it? I’m rethinking the red now that I added the teal… ” I softly replied, frowning at the bright red paint.

“No! That’s beautiful, and if anything were to change, I’d say to throw you in the paint.”

Verc patted my lower back then went on to do her business, leaving me to observe my work. The bell rang and Tao dragged me off to Math. Affinity Hour came quicker than I expected, so I decided to go and visit Govea.

I crept into the steel door and took in the aroma of the dragons. (They all smelt like vanilla mixed with cinnamon—very pleasing.) Down a few rows, I heard Govea’s deep laughter and a dragon cutely roaring back at him. I called out his name, then Govea peeked his head out from the last row of enclosures.
“Just the person.” He smiled. “Wanna meet the babies?”

“Babies?” I started walking closer and Govea went back to his place. My heart exploded when I saw the two baby dragons in the basket.

The first was a pretty pink, with an orange streak of scales going down her back. The other was a deep blue with a yellow streak of scales down her back; they were adorable.
“Meet Ripley and Riva: our new baby girls,” Govea smiled.

I gasped at Ripley’s cute little sneeze. (Ripley was blue; Riva was pink.) “I want to eat them,” I chuckled.

“Well, don’t. They need more than 17 hours to live, Eris.”

“I’ll save you guys for later.”

Ripley let out another sneeze and her scales poofed out; her sister used her small wing to gently pat her back.
“They’re a bit sick. Mama had a bad cold during birth,” Govea said, observing their tiny bodies.

“It’s an inherited trait, huh?” I smiled at Riva and she made an impressive attempt to do the same.

A good minute into talking with Govea, I heard another voice from behind me. “Well, what do ya know, Eris is in here with Govea.”

I turned around and saw Dallas approaching from a row behind. He gave me a soft kiss then looked at the babies.
“You’re cuter than I expected,” Dallas smiled, waving at them.

Riva sneezed and she shot up into the air—literally. She was flapping her little wings while she tried not to fall and break her face. Govea was a few feet away, so Dallas quickly grabbed her and she let out a baby sigh of relief.
“They are very sick,” Govea muttered, with his hand rubbing his chin in thought. “Say, Dallas, would you mind watching them while I’m gone? I have to make a quick stop in Ohio, but I don’t want them to be overwhelmed alone.”

“Uh, I guess. Harley can’t be around them, can he?” Dallas replied.

“I’m afraid not. Have he and Hannah stay at your Yard, they are far too rough to be around newborns.”

Dallas nodded and Govea thanked him again. Huh, Dallas with babies?! This. Will. Be. Hilarious. I picked up Ripley then waved to Govea. “I’ll make sure Dallas doesn’t kill them.”

“Me?! Please, I’m amazing with animals,” he scoffed.

“Says the one who kills them for a hobby,” Govea muttered under his breath. I laughed but Dallas made a boyish grunt as Govea shooed us off and we headed to the apartments.

As we walked, Riva kept trying to fly up, and Dallas had to hold her tight, but she sneezed every two seconds, so his grip was pretty pointless. He opened the door to his place, and we set the sisters free.

I plopped down on the couch, Dallas came over and laid across my lap.
“How was your day?” he asked as he cut the TV on.

“Fine.” I ran my fingers through his light hair. “How was yours?”

“You could say… terrible.”

“Why?”

Dallas’ violet eyes lifted to mine. “Because I say so. And, I got bit by Harley and Hannah. They just don’t like me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Would it make you feel better if I cooked for you?” I waggled my eyebrows down at him.

“Hmm, what will you make me?”

“I’m not telling you. Shut up and sit down.”

“Eris, that’s not very nice. You should apologize.” Dallas made his puppy-dog eyes.

“Dallas,” I mocked, “that’s not very nice. I think you should apologize.” I stuck my tongue out before running back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, I was still in the kitchen, listening to music and making this sandwich for him. Something was moving behind me… I whipped my head around and saw Dallas hop onto the counter then smile. I yanked my headphones out and laughed. “What the shit?! Go back in there.”

“Unless you want to be burned, turn around and make me a sandwich,” Dallas said, being his traditional smartass.

I stuck my hand in the drawer then pulled out something. “I know you didn’t just tell me to make you a sandwich,” I growled as I pointed the blade at him.

Dallas shrugged. “Okay, make me a grilled cheese sandwich.”

I dropped the knife back into the drawer then finished the sandwich. Cutting off the stove, I passed Dallas the plate and he took a gigantic bite.
His eyes got wide. “Awh, bitchin! There’s pepperoni!”

“Really?! I didn’t know.” I made a fake gasp but Dallas just nodded.

“Pepperoni.” He took another bite and rolled his eyes to the back of his head while he moaned.

“Is it that good?” I giggled and mimicked his face.

Dallas nodded. “It’s that good.”

“You’re welcome.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek then ran off to the living room to watch the game.

Dallas finished up in the kitchen, and took his medicine before coming to sit with me. He pulled my legs into his lap and grazed his fingertips over my covered skin—but it still felt like he was trying to tickle me. I wiggled from his grinp and he gave me a death stare.
“Quit moving,” Dallas huffed.

“No, you’re gonna molest me,” I giggled, tucking my knees to my chest.

“Molest you? I mean, I know that you’re into some freaky shit, but molest—”

I hurled a pillow at him and Dallas flopped back on the couch. He quickly threw the pillow back but I covered my head. Dallas yanked my leg again, then laid me on his lap and started tickling me.
“Dallas, stop! I will punch you in the throat!”

He dropped his hands and started laughing. I took advantage and pushed him back on the cushions, straddling his lean hips.
“Hey! That’s not fair,” Dallas chuckled.

“Life isn’t fair. Don’t tickle me unless you wanna wake up dead,” I growled while pinning his arms back.

“Wake up dead? How much sense does that make?”

“I dunno, do you wanna test that theory? Because I will—”

Dallas hit me with another pillow and I flipped back the other way. Damn, I never knew a pillow hurt that much! He had his turn on top then kissed my neck, but I pushed him onto his back then sat up straight. Dallas got up, then wrapped his arm around my upper back, pulling me closer to his warm body. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the smell of his yummy cologne; Dallas always smelt so fucking good. He must’ve noticed my sniffing because he pushed the side of my face.
“Hey!” I blew a strand of hair out of my face before sticking my tongue out at him.

“Don’t sniff people, you’re not a dog,” Dallas said.

I started to kiss on his neck, and Dallas sighed (I had my ways). He put his hands on my midriff, then slid his hand down to cup my ass while I grinded my hips down onto his.
“Hey,” Dallas laughed. “Don’t start something.”

I swung my legs the other way then straddled him backwards. Dallas put his face in the crook of my neck and started to lightly kiss me, with his tongue trailing up the side of my neck and to my ear. He was in love with my ears (not in the creepy way) because he loved to play with my earrings and piercings. On the left, I had an industrial piercing, a double hoop helix with tiny blue barbells, and two studs in the lobe. On the right, I had four tiny hoops in the lobe, another single helix, and a forward helix. He loved to tug and lick on them, and it made me crazy.
“Mmm,” I smiled. Dallas moved to my lobe and nibbled the pink ball I had in.

“You taste good,” he whispered. Damn, his warm breath made me moan.

“Well, I do like to taste good,” I giggled.

“Of course you love to taste good. Because I’m the only one who gets to ever taste you.”

I twisted my neck and glared at him. “Oh, really?”

“Yes really, Eris.” He gave me a small peck. I went in again and pushed Dallas back onto the soft cushions of the couch. He looked directly between my legs, obviously thinking about what was covered by my skin-tight leggings. I poked his stomach.

“Don’t look, I wore clothes for a reason,” I chuckled.

Dallas put his head back. “Meanie,” he pouted. Oh no, not the pout! Dallas made thee cutest pouty face, and thee cutest puppy eyes, and I always felt bad.

“No, Dallas! Please don’t, I’ll feel like shit!” I sighed. I put my face in my hands and Dallas started laughing.

“Alright, alright. Come on, I’ll let you leave this time since you have homework.”

I crawled out of his lap then sat up. Dallas walked me to the front door and leaned against the frame before bending down to kiss me. “I love you, don’t text me later,” he said.

I made a hurt face. “Damn. That was harsh.”

“What? I’m not gonna be up, I’m taking my ass to bed when you go.”

“Dallas, it’s only 6pm.”

“And? I slept terrible last night, so, I need to fix it by playing nocturnal.”

“Playing nocturnal? As in, sleep all day, party all night?” I laughed when he nodded.

“Yep, so, don’t text me.” Dallas wrapped me up in his thick arms. He put his hand on the base of my neck then whispered, “Next time, you won’t be leaving.”

“Oh really? And”—I pushed him away—”you won’t either, I may just tie you to the bed then molest you.”

Dallas down peered at me. “What is up with you and molesting?” he snickered.

I shrugged then hugged him around his neck and blew a kiss. “I love you.”

Behind his leg, Riva and Ripley looked at me like little kids—not really coming out, hiding behind Dallas. I waved to them then walked back to the dorms.

Right when I stepped the through the glass doors, my friends Giovanni and Ophelia stopped me.
“Hey, Eris,” Ophelia smiled. She had this bright pink, black and white hair, with dark eyes with vibrant rings of pink and white surrounding her pupils. Her affinity was Flexibility, and I liked to call her “Pretzel” because htere wasn’t a way she couldn’t turn her body.

She handed me a candle. “This is a gift from me and Gi, we wanted to say thanks for the advice.”

“Oh! Thanks! Everyone knows how I am about candles,” I giggled, observing the lavender candle. Last week, Giovanni was scared her powers were dying out because nothing was working, but I helped her locate her “inner Photography” and bring them back. But the unique thing was: Giovanni was Deaf, and Ophelia was her best friend.

Giovanni’s afifnity for Photography was astounding and she found art in everything she saw. Her dark blue eyes reflected her dark purple hair, and the ink of her Maxi swirled around her arms. She never used her disability as an excuse, and she was probably one of my closest friends!

“Thank you,” Giovanni signed, showing me the sign of respect at the end.

“You’re welcome, I gotta go. But I’m glad you got them back.” I smiled, bowed back then ran off to Tao.

Upstairs, I didn’t expect Tao to be sitting on the ground, with Mumble squawking and making a raucous. I giggled when he pecked her hand and made Tao squeal, “Ow!”

“Good job, Mumble. Keep it up,” I said.

“Ugh, hey. How was it with Dallas?”

I kicked my boots off, set the aromatic candle on the nightstand and leaned against the window.
“It was fine,” I sighed. “Hey, is Maz like, dead or something? He wasn’t in any classes, and he didn’t walk you to any Hours.” Tao rolled her eyes and clenched her fists on her knees.

“He’s being a complete asshole. His Dad took him through the portal, but I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday. And all he does is read my messages like they don’t exist,” she said. It was Thursday, so I knew Tao had to be going crazy.

I scoffed. “Well, at least you know he’s not dead. Alright, I have to change and finish my homework.” I peeled off my bottoms, tossed my shirt into the hamper then scampered along to the bathroom.

It took way longer to finish my homework, but after reading my book and playing with Mikey, I flopped down on the bed. Tao came over to me and sat on my legs, obviously prepared to ask me something.
“Yes?” I said from under my arms.

“You want a slushie? You look really tired, and, slushies work magic,” she smiled. I nodded, and Tao made me a cherry slushie.

I sipped the treat like a toddler, and Tao must’ve been happy because she made herself one–though it was just slush, no flavor. We ended up sleeping in the bed together, with our slushies on my nightstand.
====
Thank God the next day was Friday because I was mentally and physically exhausted. Seriously. On the History test, I got 100, and in Art, Verc displayed my work for an example. Wow, I really sounded like a goody-goody…. ew. After Math, I got texts on my phone from Bull.
Bull: Hey, are you done in class??
Me: Yes, why?
Bull: Come to the library.
Me: Fine.

I had already been heading toward the dorms, so I redirected and went to Ria. 57. When I opened the doors, I could see Bear and Bull talking with their mom, and obviously trying to tell her a joke. Bull saw me, then stood up and waved me over like an idiot with a grin so bright that he looked kind of like a mad man. Chryseis rolled her eyes at him when Bear gently punched her shoulder, and she punched him back even harder. She saw me then grinned.
“Hello, Eris. Merry meet,” Chryseis said.

“Hello. Uhm, what do you two want?” I asked the Twins.

They perked up and rose to their feet. “Oh! We need your help,” Bear deeply said.

“We don’t know how the Dewey Decimal System works… so can you help?” Bull gave me the biggest grin ever.

“I guess….”

“Eris, I suggest you run as far as possible; they’ll start depending on you like they’re lost puppies.” Chryseis gave them an annoyed look then smiled again before leaving.

“Ma!” Bear laughed. “That’s not nice!”

“I love you!” Bull called out.

I laughed when Chryseis turned around and gave them a playful finger.
“ What do you guys need?” I asked.

“Uhm, dragons. Particularly babies… that are sick… and shooting themselves into the air.”

“Ah, Riva and RIpley? They’re so cute! But, you left them alone with Dallas?”

Bear nodded as we crossed over to a bookshelf. “He isn’t that bad of a parent. Dallas turns on the game and they’re mesmerised.”

“Ya mean like you?” I glanced back at them as I handed them a thick book.

Bull carried the first book over to the lounge area, and I passed an even thicker one to Bear. He joined his brother in the red chairs then flipped them open.
“Goddamn!” They started coughing and waving their hands at the tons of dust from the book covers.

“Well, that was probably written in 1700 B.C.,” I sighed, kicking my feet up on the table.

Bear skimmed for a while then gasped, “I’ve found nothing!”
Bull took his turn then said, “Oh wow, there’s nothing useful in here!”

“Well, you’ve only read two pages, so, you should look a bit deeper. Pick a number, divide it by 2 or 4, then read that page.”

The Twins got their numbers then flipped through the books again. Bull found something and said, “It’s because mama had a dragon-flu!”

“And, they have terrible immune systems,” Bear mumbled, flipping through more pages as if he’d never held a book before. “This is so not English,” he chuckled.

Bear and Bull looked for a bit more then handed the books back to me like I was a servant. I looked at them as if they were crazy. “Since when am I your servant? God gave you two working legs, so use them.”

Bear made a groan and got louder while he stomped off to the bookshelf, same with Bull and his cute pout. They came back then looked at me like I was the devil.
“Problem? I’m just trying to keep you two in shape,” I deviously smiled but the Twins rolled their eyes.

“We gotta go and check on Dallas, are you coming?” Bull asked, standing up and running his fingers through his cloudy hair.

Every time I stared at his tresses, I just wondered how he made his clothes match something so bright. I was sure his hair was a brighter white than snow, and when I looked at Bear’s hair, it was darker than a summer night sky.

“Nah, I’m gonna stay here. Hey, Bear, can you go ask Zara for a book on Fire? And Earth? And Water? And Air?”

Bear turned the corner of his lip up into a sneer. “Uhm, do I look like a male stripper? Then don’t ask me to please you.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Caine.” Bull looked at him with bright grey eyes but Bear huffed air out of his nostrils.

“If you get it, I’ll buy you a smoothie,” I quickly bribed.

It took Bear about two seconds to sprint to the front desk and come back with the four books. He had an obsession with smoothies; there wasn’t anything Bear wouldn’t do for a smoothie. He gently passed them to me.
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Call me when you really need a smoothie.”

“Okay! Bye,” Bear said. He and Bull walked out of the library then went back to the apartments for Dallas.

Why did I need these books? Good question. Sometime that following week I wanted to cast a circle and “talk with” my affinity. Over a month without powers made me kinda antsy, so I made it a goal to cast a circle at least once so I didn’t freak-the-fuck-out. The books would just show me how to do it properly; no room for screwing up.

I sat the books on the table, side by side then opened the Air first. One thing from rituals I remembered was: Air, Fire, Water then Earth; call them in that order, dismiss them backwards. Since the Twins and Dallas gave me those candles, I’d been illuminating our dorm with them and concentrating on my homework (and it really worked). Casting a circle was completely different: I had to make sure I had a purified space; complete the circle; do it well; 10000000% of my attention is on the circle; have a purpose. Well, I had those answers and items. To purify the space, I could use the lavender batch Nana and Papa gave me, and weave it to make a scented braid. Completing the circle is easy: I just needed a certain amount of area with my candles in a compass organization. And, the rest was fairly easy to do or find or whatever. Studying the Riate words got very confusing, since I was used to the rituals being written in english. Some of the letters got turned over, some had extra lines, most had squiggly lines and twists, and I had to translate all of it! Well, after a difficult study, I picked up the books and crossed over to the colossal desk.

Zara was in her own little world, reading One for the Money and humming a tune.
“Zara—”

“AH!” Zara’s book flew out of her hand and she was all bug-eyed. She sighed when she realized it was me. “I’m sorry, Eris. Pardon me for startling you.”

That little scream she did made me jump. “It’s alright. And, you have a beautiful screaming voice, it is truly outstanding,” I smiled but Zara gave me a look.

She noticed the books against my chest and nodded. “Ah, casting circles, huh. Have any idea when you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, before this month is over.”

Zara nodded as she typed something into her computer, with her pink nails flying across the keyboard. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she had a cute flower crown on.
“Alright,” Zara grinned. “Feel free to keep them as long as you like, I won’t mind if they’re not returned.”

“Zara, I can’t just do something like that. That’s called stealing,” I was being serious but she laughed.

“Sweetie, it’s not considered stealing if I say you can have them. Heck, I’m the only Professor who’s read all 17,836 of these books, and, I have permission to give them to you. So, study long and hard, and have a great circle.”

She was right: her affinity (Reading, obviously) made her memorize chapters and lines from books, and it made her read twice as fast. So, if she said I could have them, there was no arguing.

I raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Zara wiggled her fingers at me and I exited the large glass doors.

Not only did I just get four gigantic books, but, I can reread and do an even better job on my circle. With my mental notes, I planned to cast the circle tomorrow, in the woods where it’s secluded and peaceful. I would make an addition to the lavender, and mix some dried eucalyptus to give it a yummy smell. The entire purpose of the circle would be to connect with my powers spiritually, more than just physically and emotionally. Oh! I had to use the candles Dallas and the Twins gave me, and I’d add another candle: the one Giovanni gave to me.

I’d use it for Spirit. I read that Spirit was an affinity, and categorized as an Element, so why not? The purple candle would be in the middle, with the other four in a perfect diamond to connect them all.

Seems like my circle was gonna be pretty darn good. While coming up the stairs in the dorms, my phone buzzed with a text from Dallas.
Dallas: what are u doing?
Me: Why?
Dallas: Answer my question, please.
Me: Going to my room. Why?

Dallas was just asking about his sweatshirt—I kinda took it last time I slept over. He wanted it back, but I wanted to keep it because it smelt like him and it was big and warm! Dallas said he’d steal it back, I highly doubted that he’d do it.

When I walked into the dorm room, Tao was coming out of the shower with a bit of cold smoke radiating from her wet body. She whirled around and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I waved and smiled back.

“What’d you do after school? I missed you last Hour,” Tao said as she searched for some clothes.

“Oh, the Twins needed me.”

“Hmm. And, what’s up with the books?” She slipped a shirt over her head and glanced at me.

I dropped the books on my desk then laid down on the bed. “Well, I’m casting a circle soon, so I just needed some review.”

“That’s awesome!” Tao clapped her hands together and gave me the happiest smile ever.

I smiled back as she stepped into a pair of gym shorts.

She sneered at her purse on the desk. “Poop. Well, I have to finish this for Kirsi”—Tao pulled a thin stack of papers out of her bag—”and I don’t feel like it.”

“Tao.” I snatched the papers from her. There were only four pages, so it shouldn’t have been that hard. “Half and half?”

“Honey, no. Thank you, I have to do this by myself, because this is stuff I don’t know. You know it, but I don’t.” Tao gently took the papers back and sashayed to her desk.

She put her iPhone on the speaker and turned on Kenny Chesney—oh God. I sat on my bed, listening to her sing along and do her homework. It was funny to watch Tao multitask, because she was super clumsy. The pen kept rolling off of the desktop, so she had to continuously bend over and pick it up. After the eighth time, Tao froze the writing utensil to the desk and continued working. (Great use of power.)

She closed her books and put her stuff away, saying, “Finished!”

“Good job, Tao Chesney,” I muttered.

“You know it. Hey, so I gotta tell you this story.”

“I’m listening…” I drew my eyes to her.

“So, one time when I was 14, there was this boy”—with Tao, there’s always a boy—”and he was real cute. And, I finally grew the tits to go over and say hi, but, I was just so nervous! I went over, he waved, and I freaked out! I accidentally froze his hand like—” Tao had her hands up, and there was a little spark of energy before the power shot out of the window, and sent a strong wind through the room. Tao got flung back onto her bed, and there was a big crackle of ice over our heads. After the ice stopped falling, I sat up and shook the tiny crystals out of my hair. Tao had not moved yet.

“Tao!” I scrambled out of bed and came over next to her, and she hugged me. “Are you okay?”

Her cold body felt even colder, and I was just scared that I would lose her. “That ain’t supposed to happen,” Tao nervously chuckled into my neck. I held her out at arm’s length then smiled.

I pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. But—” Tao flicked her hand out, with the intention of getting ice to hit the wall, but nothing happened. She tried over and over again until she was hyperventilating and frantically talking over me.

“Eris, Eris, my powers! What happened? Eris! Help, I dunno what—”

“Calm down,” I slowly and loudly said. Tao cradled her head in her hands. “Okay, we need to go and alert Brice, because that’s not normal.”

“Right,” she flatly said. Tao was stunned—in all of 14 years, she’d never lost her powers or anything. She grabbed a hoodie then stepped into her boots; I stepped into my shoes and we quickly went downstairs.

It was past curfew, but that was the least important thing right now. What was important was Tao. Some of the girls were sitting in the living room watching MTV, and one of those girls was Giovanni. I tapped her shoulder and her soft pink eyes locked on mine.
“What’s up?” she signed.

“Giovanni, we have to leave. It’s important, and we’re going to Brice. Just, don’t freak if we’re leaving after curfew,” I replied.

“Is everything okay? You look upset.” Her hands moved quickly, so I knew she wasn’t happy with what we were asking.

“Sorta. We… We’ll explain it later, but we have to go.” Tao and I bowed to her and she smiled back.

Tao and I burst out of the glass doors then hurriedly walked over to Ria. 84. (We knew we’d be in some deep shit if we were sprinting around like Usain Bolt—especially after curfew.) When we passed by the apartments, it was clear that there was a party going on, because chatter was beyond the roof. And a bunch of lights were on on the top floor. Tao grabbed my arm and said, “We might just have to run… I don’t want to take too long.”

“Eh, you’re right,” I nodded then we broke out into sprint.

By time we got there, Tao and I were both breathing a bit hard (we may or may not have run into a crazy gremlin).

We opened the doors and walked down the dark hallway to Brice’s office. From inside, we could hear Brice talking to someone—not to himself, but someone.
“Maybe you should tell that to your aunt, Karder,” he said.

Oh. He was talking to Xi and Karder—his sons. (The two men who escorted me into Rianate, and, they were the ones to take Aya’s body away.) I didn’t even figure that out until Dad told me, but, it made sense: they were a bit older than us (maybe 27-30 years old), they worked for Brice all the time, and they had Brice’s ,. (It just meant that Lena was their aunt.) And no one had seen Lena for a while, she went to Arizona for something. Anyway, Brice finished talking with them, then Xi and Karder passed us in the hall.
“Girls,” Xi asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the dorms? Curfew.”

“We need Brice, it’s far too important to wait,” Tao replied.

“Oh. Merry part,” Karder said, bowing to us. He and his brother quickly left to wherever they stayed—I think in the mansion. Tao took an intense breath, then slowly widened the heavy door…. Brice was standing with his back to us, sipping on wine from a silver goblet.

“Brice…” Tao faintly said.

He quickly turned to us with a raised eyebrow. “It is past curfew. You two shouldn’t—”

“Her powers are gone,” I blurted, inadvertently cutting him off.

His expression darkened. “What? Why has this happened? Show me, please.”

Tao started walking closer then flicked her wrist, but nothing…. nothing came out. She let out a frustrated sigh and plopped down in the leather wingback chair .
“I dunno what happened, Brice. We were in the dorm, and it didn’t work. It was like, some invisible force pushed my powers out of my body,” Tao explained, looking him dead in the eye. “The ceiling froze over, and the ice melted, crackled and fell onto us.”

“Hmm, well this is completely abnormal. Sit, Eris,” Brice said. I plopped down in the chair, Brice took his seat behind his desk and continuously stroked his bearded chin. “Now, it is completely peculiar… It’s never been that two Rio have lost their powers, and it’s never been two friends that it’s happened to.”

Tao and I shared a knowing look. She turned back to Brice then said, “What’re we going to do?”

“It’s not all that safe for us to be powerless,” I added.

He must’ve gotten an idea because his dark eyes lit up. “Well,” a smile crept onto his lips. “Asking for help always works.”

“Wha?” we dumbly huffed at once. I shook my head before saying, “Brice, what kind of help do you need? Everything is right in front of you, you practically own us.”

“Yeah, who’d be able to help?” Tao creased her brow.

“It’s not like I have an affinity for everything. Leave me, I’ll show you two tomorrow. But for now, avoid things that could harm you or your non-existent powers. After school, I think I’ll have something to help. Merry part.” He gently bowed to us, and we stood then bowed back.

Tao dragged me out of the doors and we started back to the dorms.

“Tomorrow? After school? What the shit, I lose my powers and now we’re playing tea party? Did he do this with you? How in the world are we supposed to get them back? Why did this happen? Please, tell me why. Because I don’t have an answer to any of my questions, and it’s tiring to be so overwhelmed and stressed out!” Tao frantically said, waving her cold hands around in front of her chest.

“Tao, it’s not so hard after a while. Brice knows what he’s doing, but, I’m not so sure about playing tea party either. We’ll just have to wait.” I gave her an apologetic smile; Tao rested her head on my shoulder.

We had been talking to Brice for a while, and it was nearing 1am. But, I couldn’t care less because that next day was Saturday, and, I had to make one more stop. I had decided to cast circle tomorrow night, but now that Tao’s powers were gone, we needed some extra candles. It was completely out of the norm for Rios to be out this late, and we had to go all the way over to the Rec Hall. In the Rec Hall where kids performed rituals or just hung out, there was another gigantic room—for candles. Literally hundreds of candles, row upon row upon row, just in this extra storage room. They were used for circles, or if someone wanted a candle for the night. And, the candles were based on affinity, and I knew there had to be some Ice ones in there.

I held Tao’s forearm as we entered the closed gates. The door wasn’t locked, but it was steel and it took both of us to open it. Tao shut the door after we got in, then followed me down to the room. We creaked open the next steel door and the different scents of candles hit us.
“It always smells good in here,” I grinned.

“What do we need? You have four candles for your circle,” Tao softly said as she observed the different candles.

“Yeah, those are for me, we need some for you.” I spotted the first light blue candle and made an “aha!” sound. Grabbing the first, my eyes lifted and I saw the second. Tao grabbed another, but we just had to find a fourth… Oh! (Trust me, this would be much harder if our vision wasn’t so good. There were well over a thousand candles in there.)

Tao seized the last and we quietly left the room, shutting the large door behind us. Ten minutes later, we were climbing up the stairs in the Girls’ Dorm and getting back to our room. I sat the candles on her shelf, Tao put hers next to mine. She turned to me as she stripped off her hoodie.
“So, you’re saying you’re gonna cast a circle for both of us?”

“No,” I corrected, “we’re gonna cast a circle for the both of us.”

“But, I dunno how to do that shit,” Tao sighed.

“Neither do I. Well, sorta—whatever. Tomorrow afternoon, stop at the library and read about yours, okay?”

Tao nodded as she crawled into the bed. “I’m hella tired, goodnight.”

I took off my clothes then flopped back onto the soft bedspread. Five seconds into laying down and relaxing, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Dallas: r u sleojaeping?

His typos made it clear that Dallas was shit-faced.

Me: Baby, get some sleep.
Dallas: HeAKJy nhl. paibSues wqhxat?

This was one of those times when autocorrect did not want to correct him.

Me: Dallas.

Dallas: Nothing. naijJusjnvSayingqmxks

He was drunk. Seriously.

Me: Go to bed, good night.

Dallas sent a few random letters then continued blowing me up. I didn’t bother checking my phone every time it buzzed, Dallas was just sending me random words like “hey” or “Eris” or “wake up” or “hah,” just drunk stuff. (At least I know he was at that party.) My notifications started signaling phone calls (Dallas was a drunk-caller), and they lasted about two seconds. Many phone calls and text messages later, I slowly closed my eyes and got to sleep.
====
I knew the second I should’ve woken up to check on Dallas because he interrupted my dream. I had been lying out in the sun (sunny weather is the bomb) on a big, heart-shaped floatie in the middle of a lake made of Sprite (who knows?), when all of a sudden everything disappeared and Dallas’ voice burst into my skull.
“You’re too young to sleep so late!”

God, he reminded me of my Father. My eyes fluttered open to meet Boing’s heavy glare with her fluffy tail resting on my neck. She made her annoyed squeak sound, sneezed, stood up long enough to pad around and around in circles on my chest, then she plopped down and took up the pillow space.
“You’re really no help at all,” I grumbled.

She ignored me. I only had on a polka-dot bra, and black shorts, so I was extra chilly. Fuck, I did need to go check on Dallas—he REALLY knew how to drink. I rolled my neck on my shoulders, then pushed my messy hair back and out of my eyes. Tao was curled up in a little ball, with her arm under her cheek and her face smushed into the pillow. Cutie. Mumble and Mikey were chilling on the floor, with Mumble laying on Mikey’s side and Mikey snoozing with his face in his paws.

I ran to the bathroom, took a hot shower, then quickly got dressed. If anything, leaving Dallas by himself while he was hungover was terrible. He was usually grumpy in the morning, but especially with a headache and tons of alcohol in his system. Ha, just to see him suffer…. Anyway, I grabbed my cellphone and stepped into my shoes then left the room.

Oh boy. I walked into Dallas’ place and saw the loose tee shirt on the couch. Peeking into the hallway, I saw the cracked bedroom door, and I heard Dallas shuffling the covers around. I sat my bag on the chair then slowly approached the bed. He was laying on his front, with his messy hair and his bare back to me. His Maxi looked sexy, but I wasn’t focused on that. I softly shook his shoulder.
“Dallas,” my voice barely reached a whisper. He wasn’t budging. I shook his shoulder again. “Dallas.” Nada. I put my hand on the base of his neck and got close to his ear. “DALLAS!”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Dallas popped up and threw a pillow at me.

“Ow!”

“Oh, baby.” He groaned. Dallas rubbed my cheek and said, “I’m sorry, but don’t do that.”

“It’s… fine? Jesus, boy, get up!” I poked his shoulder but Dallas didn’t smile. “When did you get home?”

“Uh…” Dallas glared at the clock on his nightstand. His normally bright blue eyes were reflecting his mood: dull and crestfallen. “2am, I think. I dunno.”

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his thighs, and his head down. I ran my fingers through his messy locks, making Dallas sigh and rest his head on my stomach.
“Maybe a shower,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Shush. I know, I’m dirty and need a shower. And, dear God, I need food! And coffee! And sleep! Ughh,” Dallas flopped back onto the bed and covered his face with a pillow. He still had on his jeans, but they were low-rise so I had a good view.

“Rebel, maybe you shouldn’t stay out so long, since you enjoy sleeping the day away.”
I called him Rebel for two reasons: it was his middle name, and Dallas read this story about a guy named Rebel who always drank. Plus, he was my little Rebel.

“Not in the mood for jokes.” His voice was muffled but I could hear him clearly.

“Okay. Well, take a shower, I’ll make you food and stuff.”

“Thanks, Avatar.” Dallas chucked the pillow at the wall, and I flinched when it landed on the hard surface with so much force. He got up then squeezed my hip. “I can’t kiss you because I have every hint of alcohol on my breath.”

I chuckled and Dallas patted my ass. He shut the bathroom door then did his business while I went to prepare him breakfast. 20 minutes later, a fresh Dallas walked into the kitchen for breakfast, coffee, and medicine. He took a sip of the coffee and made a satisfied groan. He leaned his head back to me.
“Did I ever tell you that you make caffeine taste like Jesus?”

“I’ve been told before,” I giggled, handing him the plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

“And did I ever tell you that you have just made food my new drug?”

“Nah, but you should. And, did you brush your teeth?”

Dallas nodded. “Why—” I didn’t give him time to answer before devouring his lips. Keeping my lips on his, I took the coffee from his hands, and Dallas seized my hips. He trapped me against the counter, using his tongue to explore my mouth while I inched my fingers into his sweatpants. We finally pulled away, breathing hard and Dallas had a slight smile on.

“Because I wanted to do that,” I grinned, walking to the living room.

Dallas quickly joined me and he ate his food while I searched for something to watch. He took his plate back to the kitchen then laid on the cushions with me. I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him about Tao losing her powers, Dallas wouldn’t really care.
“We probably need to check on the Twins,” he muttered.

“What? Are they shit-faced too,” I groaned, tossing my head back and closing my eyes.

“If I was that bad, they have to be drowning in a tub of beer. Come on.”

Dallas yanked me off of the couch and we quickly went to Bear’s apartment. His place was pretty neat, he just had a few misplaced items here and there (not to mention everything was dark, and, all of the curtains were closed). In the bedroom, Bear was laying on his stomach with the covers tossed to the side and his tee shirt dangling at the foot of the mattress. Dallas gave me a look then mouthed, “I’ll do it.”

I nodded. Dallas took a deep breath then crossed over to the side of the bed. He hit Bear with a pillow, he didn’t budge. Dallas tried over and over, but nothing. He rolled his eyes then grabbed two more pillows. Dallas hit Bear with so much force that I even flinched. With lightning speed, Bear hopped out of bed, shoved Dallas onto the ground and yelled, “GET OUT!”

I picked up a pillow and hit him in the stomach. Bear barely (haha) moved, but he was taken aback by the way I hit him.
“You get off your ass and get in the shower,” I huffed, giving him a death stare. “And say sorry.”

Bear sneered at me but grinned at Dallas. “Sorry, fucker. I’ll go for the nuts next time.”

“Thank you.” Dallas grinned back as he picked himself up. Bear hurried off to the shower then did his own business. Dallas looked back at me with dark green eyes and said, “You can wake up Christopher. He actually scares me a bit.”

I shrugged and we left to go and get Bull. Once again, his place was really nice, and he was in his bedroom snoozing away. The duvet was a bright blue pattern, and the gazillion of pillows were a cute shade of blue (they really contrasted with his white hair). I hit him with a pillow, nothing happened. After the tenth time, Bull seemed as if he was dead. I gave Dallas a helpless look but he mouthed, “Super hard.” I heeved a great sigh then saw Bear appear in the doorway. He asked me for the pillow but I scrunched up my nose to make him back down.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Bull. I held the pillow out then, I rammed it down onto his back.
“WHAT THE FUCK!”

I think that did it. Bull sat up then saw it was me. “You little—”

I ran over to Dallas and Bear and stood behind them, looking over their shoulders at the hungover victim. Bull hopped out of the bed then gave me a death stare.

Bull twisted up his mouth. “Someone make me breakfast, I need to shower.”

“Anything else for our queen?” I said under my breath.

“I’d like your head on a stick. Your queen shall be clean.” Bull slammed the bathroom door and did his own little business.

By time Bear and Bull were done with breakfast and going about their day, Dallas and I were sitting in the bedroom and talking.
“…and it was really nasty,” I giggled. I just told him a story about the time my friend had cat pee in a cup and poured it in my backpack. (We were 15, don’t judge.)

He tossed his head back and started laughing. I pulled him down into a kiss, but I didn’t expect Dallas to stick his tongue into my mouth.
“Baby!” I giggled.

“I want to show you my love,” he laughed into my mouth.

I pushed him off. “Show your love in another way, but don’t choke me with your organ.”

“What the….” Dallas sighed and shook his head. “Choke you with my organ?”

“Tongue”—I stuck my tongue out—“organ.”

“Eris”—Dallas put his finger on my forehead—“weirdo.”

I blew him a kiss and Dallas kissed me for real. After the eternal kiss, he pulled back then said, “I have to go soon. And, I don’t want to start something we can’t finish.”

“Poop! Where do you have to go?” I replied`.

“Uh, Riva and Ripley, duh. And, I have to check on Hannah and Harley. Oh, and I have to go practice. And I have to—”

“That’s amazing, but I don’t care.”

Dallas pushed the side of my face as he got off of the bed. He reached into his closet, grabbed something then sighed. Dallas pulled out a deep blue shirt and grinned. “You might wanna close your eyes, I’m getting naked.”

“Oh, let me just open my eyes,” I laughed, turning to his body.

Dallas stripped his white shirt off then changed into the blue one. He tossed it over his shoulder, and into the hamper.
“Awh,” I pouted. “That wasn’t naked.”

“Close enough. Come on, I’m gonna walk ya back,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. Dallas wrapped his arm around my waist then nuzzled my hair.

“Ew,” I pushed him away but I was laughing. Dallas snapped his teeth at me. “Sorry, I don’t like people touching my hair.”

He looked down. Dallas hooked my neck in his elbow and (annoyingly) ruffled my hair like a relative would do to me. I had to reach down and grab his groin for him to stop.
“HEY!” Dallas laughed.

“Don’t touch.” I jumped on his back and started ruffling his hair. “Unless you want me to cut this off.”

“It’s beautiful, so don’t touch me!”

I dug my fingers into his thick hair then messed it up, but Dallas kept moving his head from my grip. We were walking down the hallway, so we probably looked very stupid. Dallas pulled me back to my feet and hooked his hand behind my neck to pull me close.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” he grinned.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I replied, running ahead to race him.

Dallas broke out running after me, and we made it to the dorms much faster than expected. I reached up then ran my fingers through his hair once more.
“Thank you for saving me from a terrible hangover,” Dallas chuckled.

“Anytime. And, thank you for touching my hair like a creep,” I smiled.

He kissed the top of my head and sent me on my way. Now, this circle: it’d be fairly easy to cast Tao—since she had one affinity to control. But me, that would be a bit different because I had never done all four. Hmm.

Heading into the kitchen for my brown pop, questions swarmed around in my head, but, I wasn’t that freaked out about the circle. Hell, I’d seen someone cast one, and call their powers, but any other time, it hadn’t really crossed my mind. I was still gonna do it. And, Tao had to call her own. She texted me earlier and said that she read some stuff in the library, so she somewhat knew what we were doing.

I walked upstairs to our room then saw Tao walking down from the other hall.
“Hey,” she called out.

“Hey.” I waited a few seconds for her to catch up. She looped her arm with mine and we continued walking. “So are you excited to cast this circle?”

“Actually, I am very excited. I told my mom, and, since she’s such a softy, she freaked out. But I told her that I was okay, and we were doing the circle tonight.”

“Oh, good. Well, it’s 6 right now… So, be ready at 9pm, and we’ll have enough time.”

Tao nodded and opened the door for us. I went straight to my nightstand then started searching around for my lavender batch that Nana gave me, and I needed the eucalyptus. They both smelled really good. And together, that’s like Jesus touched my nostrils. I grabbed my four candles, and Tao handed me hers.
“Thank you.” I put the candles together on my desk with a silver lighter.

Oh! I almost forgot about the candle Giovanni gave me! While I was getting the stuff together, Tao had taken the time to braid the lavender and eucalyptus together in one long strand.
“Heh, thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome. This smells amazing,” Tao replied.

“Imagine what it smells like burning.”

Tao smiled and handed me the braid. By time it was 9pm, we were gently putting the stuff in one of Tao’s bags so we could leave for Ria. 200.

When we found the circle to stop at, I looked at Tao and reached into the blue bag. I sat the candles and lavender against a tree then Tao drew a circle in the air with her cold hand.
“This is the circle,” she explained.

“Alright. So, these four trees”— I pointed to the four gigantic oaks—”will keep the barrier.”

“Kay.”

Tao and I decided for her to cast first, so we grabbed all the blue candles and put them North, East, South and West to create a perfect cross. I lit the lavender, then motioned for her to step into the middle of the circle. Clearing my throat, I stepped into the little opening and began:
“I call for Ice to join our circle, and give back the gelid powers to Tao…” I rotated around the entire circle, waving the burning strand through the air. Tao sat in the middle of the circle, with her eyes locked on all of my movements.

I lit the first candle and continued, “Ice for integrity, Tao doesn’t even have to try.”

Second candle. “To be creative, and not to lose our spark, Ice for Imagination.”

The third one seemed to glow brighter. “Ice for Importance.”

When I lit the fourth, I could feel it. The short jolt of energy that ran down my spine. But, it wasn’t a regular energy—it was chilly and made goosebumps appear on my skin. “Ice for Individuality because no one’s the same. I call Ice to this circle!”

I quickly left the circle and closed it back up with a rock. (For a beginner, I said that beautifully.) All of the candles’ lights whipped up, and grew in size until Tao looked like she had four lamps around her. There was an energy. A light blue, glowing energy that ran candle to candle and cast a light upon Tao’s body. She was pretty much glowing herself. But, Tao had her eyes closed, and it was obvious that she was taking deep breaths, to inhale the faint scent of lavender, and to be more connected to her powers. We read in the book that using a part of the affinity was important to the circle, so, I clutched my water bottle, and screwed open the top. There was just ice in here. I grabbed all of the little cubes, then threw them into the circle with Tao and I was shocked. Shocked by how the ice just attracted to her, like Tao had magnets in her hands. She clutched them in her palms, and I saw the glow from her back. Her Maxi. Tao’s black top gave me a good view of her upper back and the light blue icicles glew a dark blue, and I knew it was from the Ice. Damn, she looked so calm and relaxed.

The candles whipped out, and everything was still. No glowing Maxi. No energy connecting the candles. A relaxed Tao. The air was very chilly, and I had an idea why. She opened her eyes, then grinned at me.
“That was great. But it’s your turn.”

I weakly smiled and nodded.

Tao stood up, then fixed her long hair—the Ice and wind had made it a bit messy. She picked up the blue candles, and I placed the Elements in their spaces. Air was West, Fire was South, Water was East, and Earth was North. I had the purple candle in my hand as I stepped into the middle of the circle. Spirit was the center. Tao cleared her throat then smiled at me.
“Sit down, and relax,” she said.

I plopped down Indian-style then put the Spirit candle in between my legs. Here we go…. Tao relit the braid, then waved around the air.
“I call the Five Elements to join our circle, and bestow the importance of our powers upon Eris,” she gently said as she circled the space.

Tao finished purifying then walked to the Air candle.
“I call Air to this circle. We breathe it in our first breaths, so it is only right that it be the first Element called. Come to her, Air!”

Breezy.

Second candle was Fire.
“Fire warms us with its passionate flame. I call Fire to this circle!”

Hot.

She sauntered around to Water then grinned.
“Water is a perfect balance to flame, just as Eris is a perfect balance to soccer. I call Water to this circle!”

Cool.

Earth would be quadruple thee best.
“Earth supports us and nurtures us. As the fourth Element, I call Earth to this circle!”

Grass.

Quickly moving, Tao crossed over to me and nodded.
“It’s within all of us, important and soothing. I call Spirit to this circle.”

Relaxation.

I felt a jolt of energy run down my body, and I shut my eyes. The water…. air…. fire…. spirit…. earth.

My ears were filled with the crashing of waves against the beach shore.
It felt as if I was laying in the grass, with flowers and tall trees around me.
The warmth of a fireplace on a cold Christmas night made me happy and bubbly inside.
Wind was whipping through my hair, like the strongest tornado ever was approaching.
Mmm…. I was relaxed, and it felt like nothing mattered except for being calm, and alone.

Waves of power and relaxation rushed through my body, making me feel so…. Like everything was in place. I could feel the heat, the warmth of a blazing fire. I could feel the cool breeze softly blowing in the spring. I could feel water running down my body in the shower. And I could definitely feel cool, calm and collected emotions filling my brain. Inhale, exhale. In and out. Take and give. There was a fluttery feeling in my lower stomach. My Maxi was glowing. Gently placing my hand on my navel, I could feel how warm, and how powerful my Maxi was. Damn.

Before I could move again, my eyes shot open and I saw the energy. Whoa…. Red, blue, white, purple, and a green energy twirled together between the candles. It kinda startled me by how close the energy was to touching my body, there was no telling what could happen. Tao had tossed five sheer scarves into the circle: one to represent each Element. But, even touching the scarves, it made me radiant to feel the power charging through my body…. like my old self was back…. and it felt as if I had never lost the power. Though I’d been in the circle for a minor time, it was like an eternal event, that nothing compared to.

The energy slowly dispersed… leaving me alone in the circle. The candles whipped out, and we were left with soft scents of nature, and the melted wax. Tao glared at me.
“That felt like heaven,” I breathed.

“See? I know a thing or two about casting circles,” she giggled as she cleared up our supplies.

I stood up, grabbed my candles and broke the annulus we created with large rocks. The circle was cleared and gone, just the scent of lavender and eucalyptus remained in the silent air. Tao snatched her bag up then we headed back to the dorms. I felt relaxed. Calm. And I hadn’t felt this way in a looooooong time; my powers had been gone.
“Thanks,” Tao abruptly said. “That was completely amazing.”

“You’re very welcome. Yeah, I didn’t know what Spirit would feel like until then,” I responded.

“Hmph, I felt a bit of Water while I was in the circle…. Is that normal?” She gave me a confused look.

“Well, it is Ice and ice is just frozen, expanded water.” I paused. “It’s not your strength, but Water still exists within it.”

Tao nodded. It was 10:30pm, and I had to make a stop at the library, so I alerted Tao to proceed back to the dorms. When I entered the library, Zara waved me over to the front desk.
“Did you finish the book?” she smiled as bright as the sun.

“Zara, that book is well over one-thousand pages, I can’t finish four in one night,” I lightly chuckled. Zara was known for finishing books in less than two days.

“Well, you can always try. Haha, what are you looking for?”

“Uhm—”

I was cut off by a hand wrapping around my midriff. It was Dallas, and he winked down at me to show he meant no harm.
“Hi,” he sweetly smiled.

I shook it off then turned back to Zara. “Spirit, please. Tao and I cast our circles.”

Zara’s eyes went wide. “Really?! That’s great!”

Dallas hooked his finger in the waistband of my jeans and kept me against his body while Zara searched for the book. She handed me a book thicker than I could fully grasp.
“Keep this, too. Was all well?” Zara curiously asked.

“Great”— I shoved the book at Dallas. “I called Spirit, too, so it was way different! Tao said she felt Water when hers was called.”

“Ah, that’s good! Have you any idea when you’ll cast another?”

“No, but, I really wanna shoot for next month. But, I’m not so sure on a date for next month.”

Zara gave a single nod. She looked past me then said, “Dallas, have you cast your circle yet?”

“No, what am I gonna cast for?” Dallas raised an eyebrow.

“Mister, you could cast for anything. It may not be as important to your strength, but it’d be a good idea. Yellow candles would suit you.”

Dallas curled his lip up. “I don’t like yellow.”

“Why not purple?” Zara gave a smirk but Dallas rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Dallas. Purple would be nice.”

“Purple’s for girls,” he grumbled. “And, I’m not that feminine.”

“To me you are,” I smiled.

Zara waved us off while she laughed. “Get out of here. Eris, keep that if you need.”

We walked away and Dallas followed me out of the library. While walking, he switched hands and palmed my backside with his strong grip.
“Hey!”

Dallas gave me an innocent look. “Ass is class, hun.”

I rolled my eyes when he tried to kiss my cheek. Dallas hooked the side of my neck and planted a big kiss on my temple. I made an unattractive groan.
“You love me,” he whispered against my skin.

“Who says? I could be playing,” I grumbled, playfully pushing him off.

“Oh, don’t fib to yourself. So, how did the circle go?”

“AMAZING! I almost freaked out when it almost touched me!”

Dallas frowned. “What is the ‘it’?”

“Energy,” I smartly answered.

“Ah, that. How’d it go for Tao?”

“Great, she really liked it. And, to purify, we used the lavender Nana gave me for Christmas, and found some eucalyptus.”

“Huh, cool. Do me a favor: cast me a circle with red candles and tell me how it goes.” Dallas flashed his half smile.

“No, baby.” I pushed his arm. “You have to do it for yourself, tell me how it goes. I’ll even help you.” I smiled up into his regular blue eyes.

“But that’s too much wooooork.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and we continued walking. Dallas stopped in front of the glass doors of the dorms, then looked down at me. He handed the book over.
“Damn,” I huffed as it dropped into my arms.

“Do you want me to carry it up? You’re kinda weak, Avatar.” Avatar was his nickname for me because I controlled the Elements, but Air was my favorite. Dallas stuck his hands out for the book and I just kicked his leg. “Ow, what the sh—”

“Hah. What’s that you said to me that one day… Don’t be a smartass, it triggers others to be an even smarter ass. Now I’m gonna say something: Don’t be a smartass, it triggers people to kick you!”

Dallas rolled his eyes before claiming my mouth. He cupped my neck as he bent down… pulling me closer to his delicious lips. We were standing by one of the picnic tables, so I put the book down and reacted with my arms around his shoulders.
“God, I want sex,” Dallas moaned.

“Not appropriate,” I giggled, gently nibbling his lower lip.

Dallas stuck his tongue into my mouth and I let out a quiet moan. He cupped my ass, then effortly lifted me off of the ground. I could tell he had been drinking cold water because his tongue felt like ice in my mouth, but it was the type of feeling that made my tummy flutter, and my heart become more of his. I wrapped my legs around his waist and Dallas slid his hands under my shirt, cupping my breasts and working his hand under my bra. He managed to squeeze my nipples, which made me wetter and my moaning get louder.
“Come back with me,” Dallas said on my lips. He teased his tongue on the hoops in my ear, and I groaned his name in pleasure.

“I’m sorry. But, I gotta go,” I smiled.

Dallas kissed my ear and whispered, “Fine, I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye,” I smiled. He let me go and I walked up to my dorm.

Our hallway was pretty quiet, and Tao was laying down in her bed with a Sprite in her left hand. She looked up then nodded.
“Hey,” I wiggled my fingers.

“Hey. What’d you get at the library?” she asked. I handed her the Spirit book. “Oh, makes sense.”

“Yeah. What really makes sense is some sleep.”

I quickly showered, then came back out to lay down. Boing jumped onto my pillow and laid on my face. Her white fur got into my teal hair, and she decided to rest her tail on my neck.
“Can you move?” My voice was muffled by her body.

Eiee-ei-eeeie.

“Is that a no?”

Ei-ei-eeeeeeeeie!

Okay, that’s a no. By time Boing got back to bed, I was gasping for air and trying not to choke on her butt. I moved her to the side a bit then took the desired breaths. From across the room, Tao had her head propped up on her wrist while she watched me suffer.
“Damn,” I breathed.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re dying,” she giggled.

“Maybe I am.”

Tao laid down and Boing scooched her tush onto my shoulder. It took me a while to get over the fact that Boing had her ass all on me, but I eventually blacked out and fell into the world of my dreams.
====
Another great sleep, but terrible awakening. I was in the climax of my dream when my phone invaded. I was swimming in the middle of the ocean, with sharks circling around me, and I was following after a mermaid who looked exactly like my mother. The faint, muffled, distorted sound of the annoying tri-tone from my cellphone made me start to choke on water, and that’s when I woke up. I grabbed the device and saw who it was.
“Hey, Dad,” I sighed.

“Hello, are you still sleeping? You’re too young to sleep so late,” he replied. (Sounded a lot like my last dream.)

“Eh, yeah, what desires my attention?”

Before Dad could answer, I realized that Tao was on the phone with her mom. Lying down in the same position as me, and answering the same damn questions.
“Tao should be talking with Sumiko, but we need you two down at Ria. 42, we have something,” he explained.

“Okay.” We said our goodbyes then hung up.

I made my way blurrily to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water, trying to shock some awake into me. Tao walked in, then did the exact same thing. We brushed our teeth together, brushed our hair in the mirror and freshened up to leave.

Tao pulled on some low-rise jeans, with a crocheted top and her boots. I put on my shorts, a Nike tee shirt and wrapped my hair in a high ponytail. We quickly left the dorms and headed to our parents at the high school. Entering the front foyer, I could see Dad descending the right staircase from the upper-Professor floor.
“Hi, girls.” He bent down and kissed us both. “Upstairs.”

“Are we gonna be like, temporary Professors?” Tao muttered.

“Or guinea pigs,” I added.

“That second one,” Dad smiled. He opened the big glass door and we ducked under his arm into the hallway. Dad led us down the never-ending hallway, all the way to an open door where Chryseis, Sumiko and Professor Nolan were talking.
“Hello,” Tao and I half-stated, half-asked.

“Merry meet.” Chryseis bowed to us. “If you’re wondering why I’m here: it’s because I was the one to ask Nolan.”

“Oh, Chryseis, taking all the credit,” Sumiko laughed and winked at her.

“Hello, girls.” Professor Nolan crossed to us and shook our hands. He had dull yellow hair, with the brightest yellow eyes like a dragon. With an affinity for Reptiles, he had a Maxi on his neck that reminded me of scales, and I loved looking at it. “I know about your powers, and I think I can help,” he said.

Tao raised an eyebrow but I spoke first: “The thought ritual?”

“That’s it. It’s like a polygraph test, but, not all answers have to be verbal. I’ll be able to see your thoughts and words, it’s pretty fun to watch and fun to experience.” Nolan gave us a light smile. For a guy almost 6”10, he was like a cuddly giant. (Rian men were fucking tall, I had no idea why it was necessary.)

“Oh. Okay,” Tao and I dumbly said.

Nolan looked at our parents and Chryseis. “Er vew jiu zau quero?” They nodded and Nolan turned back to us. “Follow me.”

I directed Tao to the door and we followed Nolan out of the Professor hall. Very tall was all I could say to describe him. Anyway, he took us downstairs and through the halls toward the extra courtyard back there. Nolan pushed open the steel doors, and we were welcomed to an open concrete Yard—much bigger than our regular ones. I knew this place was used for rituals and whatnot.

“Sit on two sides,” Nolan said.

Tao went right; I went left (dominant hand). Nolan uncloaked a small table and I could see the stuff on the top: a candle, a knife and… I had no idea what that mason jar was for.

“Okay, girls. I wanna explain a few things before y’all freak. First, the candle is so I can recite the ritual, second, the knife is for blood, third, the jar is literally for catching important thoughts—” hold up, did he say catch our thoughts?! Nolan turned to me.

“Yes, I did, Eris.” (I knew the Professors could technically read minds—one of the reasons I was such a bad liar to Dad.) “Now, I’m gonna need a strand of hair from you two. Or, are your precious locks too important?” he grinned.

Tao plucked a small hair from her hair, I did the same. Nolan brought them to the table and smiled. “Now comes the blood. Arms or hands.”

I stuck my hand out and he pricked my finger; it stung, but the blade felt kinda good. Nolan dabbed the scarlet line with his own finger, then smeared it on his wrist. And the exact same with Tao. He stood behind the table once more, then began:
“Ner awq loh b’pina, sir fsut ca xixi munn,” Nalan pricked his own finger with the blade. “Dfe de dugn d’sance. Ca huj ecza Perlo!” Wow. I shivered and that was the last thing I remembered.

In what felt like two minutes later, I sat back up and looked directly at Tao. Before I could say anything, Nolan spoke, “Good to have you back, don’t say a word. Just think.”

I didn’t say anything. Tao looked at me and my mouth dropped…. her thoughts were floating around her in purple, blue and white.

Eris? Do you feel weird? Nolan, why does my head hurt? Damn, my head feels like shit. I need to talk.

She was looking back at me with the same expression. So I had thoughts, too?! Damn! Nolan cleared his throat and sat down between us.
“Girls, I want you to say one word a piece. See what happens,” he sighed.

“Hi,” Tao quickly replied. The word came out in a shimmery, sapphire blue fog.

“Eris.” The same fog appeared in front of me! Haha, this was fun!

“Okay, say four bad words. Cursing or a negative word,” Nolan said.

“Bad. Fuck. Lonely. Upset.” My words came out in a dull, dark silver fog.

“Good. Tao, say four things that are either happy or uplifting.” Nolan turned his eyes to her.

“Flowers. Ice. Dogs. Rainbows,” Tao’s words came out in a cute, fairy purple color. She smiled.

Nolan stood up then went back behind the table. “Since your powers are gone, we’re gonna use this to assist on getting them back. So, say or think anything you want, but, it has to be related to your power or any theories y’all have about them being missing. Get it, got it, good?”

“Get it, got it, good,” we repeated, admiring the blue fog. Nolan quickly sat the jar between our bodies then stepped back. I started thinking about how my powers got taken away, or how Tao’s did.

Two hours later, I was sitting in my bed and listening to music when there was a knock on the door.
“What?” I called out.

There were five rhythmic knocks—that was Giovanni. I quickly got up then swung the door open.
“Hey,” she signed.

I was shocked to see Dallas behind her.
“He wants to hang.” Giovanni exaggerated the signs then gave a sexual gesture.

“Oh so inappropriate,” I laughed.

She looked up at Dallas and he bowed to her.
“Thanks,” he said.

“Anytime.” (Giovanni could talk, but she liked to sign more.)

Dallas let her pass by then stepped into my dorm; he let out a wolf whistle. I hit his back.
“Grow up,” I grumbled.

“Damn, girl.” He pointed at the soccer posters above my bed, and the Fire/Water/Earth/Air ones by my closet. Dallas was gazing at the Hope Solo poster when Boing nuzzled his leg, making him jump back with a startled expression.

“Awh, you’re such a girl.” I bent down and picked up Boing. “It’s called a chinchilla: slightly bigger than a ground squirrel, and, her name is Boing. Hold her.” Dallas gently took Boing and she started exploring his neck area.

I had to change, so I yanked off my top and ran to the closet. Over the rows and rows of clothes, I just picked a basic white tee shirt then tossed my hair behind my shoulders. Dallas was sitting on my bed, laughing and playing with Boing while she scurried over the bedspread.
“Okay, we can go,” I announced.

Dallas looked at me. “Can we stay here?”

“Baby, you know you’re gonna be in a dorm… With 17 and 18 year old girls… Who like dicks… And you’re old…”

“I am not old, does it look like I have wrinkles? And, okay,” he chuckled. “But, can we bring this along?” Dallas waved at Boing like she was some grand prize.

I nodded and he sprang up with Boing in his left hand. Dallas waved to Mikey and Mumble then shut the door behind us. As we walked downstairs, I told him about Nolan performing the ritual on Tao and I.
“Hey, I want something to drink,” I said.

Dallas redirected me to the kitchen and I went to the fourth fridge. I could tell some of the girls were watching us talk; I felt their intense glares.
“Are you ready?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah, sure.” I took one last gulp of my brown pop then kicked the can into the recycling bin.

Dallas led me out of the glass doors and the cool breeze hit me. Very refreshing cool breeze. Since our pets could find us easily If they ever ran off, Dallas sat Boing onto the ground and she walked the other way as Dallas headed toward Ria. 200.
“So,” I asked, “what are we gonna be doing?”

“A walk,” Dallas replied.

“A walk? Since when do we go walking together? Is that like, some date?”

“No. It’s called I’m tired of not seeing the sun, so a walk.” He huffed out of his nose at me.

“Oh. Okay, walks are fun.” I smiled and tried to kiss his temple but Dallas pulled back.

He walked ahead then started running through the trees. I weaved around, and I saw him maneuver through the trees on my left.
“Dallas, it’s not funny,” I laughed.

“Then why are you laughing?” His sexy voice came from behind.

I stood still as he approached. “Because I can laugh at myself.”

Dallas snaked his arms around my midriff and pulled me back to him. He bent my head back, then kissed me good and hard.
“Hola,” I smiled up.

“Hey, Avatar. Come on,” he said as he let go of me. Dallas slipped his finger into the waistband of my shorts and kept me close while we walked further into the trees. Ten minutes into the walk, I slipped my hand under the hem of his tee shirt, and caressed his warm skin while Dallas attempted to push me off.
“Stop,” he grumbled.

“Why?” I purred, moving lower to his groin.

Dallas eventually pushed me off, so I walked with a big pout on, trying to make him give in.

He gave me a gigantic kiss when I noticed we had made it to the stream. The stream had two sides, and we were on the other side from where Aya started coughing and dying. But, this side had a massive hill behind us, and I could easily jump into the water. I was skipping rocks when I felt his hands on my shirt.
“Ah, what’re you—” the shirt came over my head. Dallas shoved my back.

“Get in,” he said.

“Baby, I don’t want to—”

He picked me up and I kicked my feet into the air, making my sandals fall to the grass. “Dallas! Stoppp!” Dallas brought me into the water and I gasped at how cold it felt on my warmed skin.

He put me on my feet but I was waving my arms around like an idiot at how gelid the water was. Dallas had his shirt off, and I was trying not to stare as I warmed up to the water.
“Have you ever been in here before?” Dallas asked, lightly pushing water on my stomach.

“No, but I’m guessing you have,” I replied.

Dallas nodded. “Come here, I wanna show you something.”

He took a few steps away into the water, but I hesitated before following. Dallas led me further downstream, until the water was just at the curve of my covered breasts. He went over to the wall then turned around to me.
“How long can you hold your breath?”

“1 minute, 23 seconds,” I replied. (Last time my friends took me swimming, we had a contest… And I was on the swim team for six years.)

“Okay. I’m gonna grab your hand, and you have to come under with me,” he explained. I nodded and Dallas grabbed my hand under the water. He dove under and I swam after him into a small, opening under the big rock wall. He popped up, so did I.

“Where the hell are we?” I panted, slicking my hair behind my shoulders.

“No one except for me and the Twins know this is here,” Dallas gently said.

The water came up to my shoulders, but Dallas had a bit of an advantage. He leaned back against the wall then looked at me. The space was big enough for probably two more people to fit in, the rock ceiling was about 7 feet up, and the water rushed into the walls.
“How do you know about this?” I asked.

“I used to come here all the time, when I still lived with the bitches,” he mumbled, looking around the water.

“Ya mean, Dayton and Dakota?”

He nodded. “I don’t come a lot, but, I make sure no one else finds it.” He smiled at me. “I guess you’re another person to know.”

“I guess,” I smiled back.

He crossed over to me and pushed me back against the cold stone, brushing his lips over mine and pressing flat against my body. (Thank God I was tall because I would probably be struggling to keep my head above the rushing water.) Dallas peered down at my bra; his lip curled into a smile.
“I’ll save you for later,” he said.

“Later? Psh,” I pushed the side of his face.

Dallas kissed my chest then whispered, “You taste good.”

I couldn’t say anything. His finger was trailing down my stomach, stopping to trace my Maxi and play with my navel. Dallas put his hand on my nape then started to kiss my neck, using his tongue to tease my skin.
“Baby… Mmm,” I moaned, running my fingers through his hair.

From the water, I could really feel how hard Dallas was—and how his dick was pushing into my lower stomach. I reached down, then softly massaged him through the fabric of his shorts. Before I could even wiggle into his boxers, Dallas stopped me.
“W-wait,” he said. I looked into his eyes (which were dark brown at the moment), and saw the lust in his soft pupils. “Follow me. I know somewhere.”

Dallas let his erection settle then led us out of the cave, and back out into the stream. He swam over to the shore and lifted himself out of the water, then turned around and helped me out.
“There’s a place up here,” Dallas said. He looked at the hill that had tall trees and grass and plants growing, then grabbed my hand so we could run. In a matter of minutes, Dallas had me at the top of the hill and kissing on my neck.

He cupped my ass, and ran his hand between my legs. I’d never imagined having sex outside, but with Dallas, I knew that it would be fun. He gently pushed me onto the ground then laid on top of me. Dallas grinded his hard on into me, putting his hand on the side of my neck to hold me still as he sucked and nipped on my racing pulse.
“Ahhh, babe… Ohh,” I panted, locking my legs on his back.

Dallas pulled back a bit and, with the gentlest touch, he unhooked my bra and pushed it off my shoulders to let my bobbs spill out. He didn’t pay much attention to my breasts before moving down my stomach to give my Maxi open mouthed kisses. He used his tongue to trace a pattern around my navel, with my hands on either side of his head and my hips grinding on his mouth.

One thing I’d never seen on Dallas before last week was his tattoo. Not his Maxi, but when he was 18, he got a tattoo of a horseshoe behind his left ear. Dallas usually cloaked it so no one saw, but he must’ve forgotten that day. And hell, I liked a guy with ink.

I lifted my ass a bit, and Dallas eased my shorts down my legs then threw them to the side. My already soaking wet pussy was heated and leaking with my juices for him; Dallas teased by rubbing me through my panties.
“Mmm,” I quietly panted, biting my lip and tilting my head back.

He dug his fingers into me a bit, and I almost freaked from how good it felt. A good two minutes into doing that, Dallas eased my panties to the side and played with my clit, lightly tapping and rubbing me. He snatched my panties down in one grab, then rubbed his thumb over my damp folds. I was gonna say something, all until he was pushing his finger a few centimeters into my me and wiggled around.

My mouth was open, but there was no sound. Dallas started massaging my tit in one hand, while he teased me with the other. As he grazed and maneuvered around all my damp pussy and aching flesh I went a little crazy; I arched my back high and moaned his name aloud. His fingertips forced into my pussy, but Dallas would pull back out then rub my thighs. He worked my boob in circles, pinching and playing with my nipples every few seconds or so. Dallas waited… he paused… stopped moving. Then it happened.

His finger pushed all the way into me, and I gasped at the sudden feeling, and he squeezed my chest again. Dallas had his middle finger pumping into me, to make me feel just right and just turned on. But, his hand was massaging me like never before; with a strong grip and his finger toying with my nipple. Dallas added another finger, then that was all I needed to start moaning and screaming again.
“Aghhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhh!”

If someone heard us, it was highly unlikely that they’d find us, because the place was completely concealed by trees. Dallas let out a moan with me when my pussy contracted, and he added another finger. Damn. His hand was vigorously squeezing and touching my breast, and honestly, I needed to touch myself too. I moved my hand down to my clit, and I rubbed myself harder as his fingers rapidly pumped into me. To have Dallas fingering me…. massaging my breasts…. and making me feel so, empowered. Dallas always touched me how he wanted, but he knew what made me hot (I mean, he did take my virginity and he taught me what he liked). As his fingers curled inside of me, I was moaning and exploring my body just as he was.

I placed my hand atop his, and squeezed and caressed my breasts. And hell, this felt good! Especially how Dallas was touching me. While he touched me, Dallas kissed on my stomach and played with my Maxi; his tongue trailed up the ink and to the curve of my breasts. He teased by lightly kissing on my areola, then moving back down.
“Dallas,” I half-panted, half-laughed.

He didn’t answer or react. Dallas pulled his fingers from inside of me and I opened my mouth to protest, but Dallas started kissing my inner thighs. He got closer and closer to my awaiting sex, but Dallas was trying his hardest not to touch, shit, he was teasing too much! And it felt kinda good…. I put my hands in his almost-white hair and forced him closer to my pussy. Dallas reached under me then pinched my outer thigh to make me stop.
“Mmm, please,” I begged. Dallas continued his torturous kisses on my legs. All while this torture was going on, Dallas’ cock was probably aching him to be freed; he’d been hard for a while. With a quick swoop of my leg, I pinned Dallas onto his back and bent down to his waist. Pushing my hair to the side so he could have a better view, I undid his jeans (being careful not to hurt the vital parts of his anatomy) and released the prize I’d been waiting for.

I kept my eyes locked on his as I took a long, teasing lick at his shaft. Dallas tossed his head back then let out a groan; I was getting him riled up… His eyes drew back to mine and I teased the tip with a big kiss. Okay, I knew Dallas hated teasing, and I deliberately looked at him with a sexy gleam in my eyes, and kept him waiting for me to suck him dry. He balled a fist in my hair as I swirled my tongue down his length. I was getting tired of the teasing as much as he, so I wrapped my hand around his thick cock and took him into my mouth. Dallas caressed my hair, and I could feel his body detense.

I used my tongue to lick the underside while my lips devoured more and more of him, all while pumping my fist after my mouth. I started to bob my head, and Dallas moaned to imply his satisfaction.
“Stop,” he firmly said. I wasn’t expecting that, but I lifted my eyes to his and sucked more.

Dallas tightened his grip in my hair then pulled me away from his cock. Fuck. I climbed up his body, straddled his hips and looked into his flaming blue eyes. As I sank down onto his hard shaft, we both let out different curse words, and I planted my hands flat on his chest. My hips slowly rocked on him, but Dallas was thinking something different; he grabbed my hips and starting ramming into me.
“Ughhhh, Dallas! Fuck, I’m cumming!”

Wow, was I that easy with him? Well, Dallas did get me close when he fingered me, and that blowjob had me on edge.

As my orgasm hit, I didn’t want to sound like I was dying, so I clamped my hand down over my mouth to stifle my reaction as the world kaleidoscoped into brilliant color in every direction. Dallas grabbed my hands and I had to scream out. He must’ve been getting close because Dallas slammed into me harder. So hard that I had to grip the grass beneath us to keep from falling. I scoochied a bit higher, so Dallas started licking and playing with my boobs.

Dallas used his teeth to lightly nibble on me, and his tongue to trace my areola. My hair was falling over my arm, but Dallas’ tongue was killing me; rolling and teasing and flicking my nipple.
His hands firmly squeezed my midriff as he moaned out his orgasm. And I was reaching another. In less than three seconds, I was yelling his name all while announcing my climax, and his cum shot high inside of my womb.

My chest was flat against his; I could barely breathe as I rode wave after wave of passion and lust and relaxation running out of my body. He caught his breath and said, “That’s another thing off my bucket list: have an amazing orgasm outside.”

I hit his chest before saying, “Shush. Hurry, we need to go and get our other stuff.”

I craned my neck, then reached over Dallas’ waist and grabbed my panties. He was trying not to stare while I slid them on, but it was kinda obvious to see his green eyes cutting into my body.
“Dallas, are you staring?” I said over my shoulder.

“Just a little, but, it’s no big deal.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

I quickly stepped into my shorts and pulled on my bra then turned around to him. He finished pulling his jeans back on then jerked his head toward the trees. Dallas led the way back down the hill, keeping his fingers interlock with mine. We stopped at the end of the grassy area.
“Walk or swim?” Dallas asked.

“Swim.” If anything, I was not going to walk over taking a nice dip.

“Since you say so…” Dallas pushed me into the cold water (it felt especially cold since I was raw from the sex).

I clenched my teeth then let out a hiss. “Get in, I can’t take all the suffering,” I said.

Dallas took his sweet time getting back into the water, obviously attempting to make me suffer even more. After he was in, I quickly dove under then swam the other way with him behind me. In five short minutes, we were where we first came in, and I could see our loose clothing articles. Dallas tossed my shirt to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I yanked it down over my head. We stepped into our shoes and shook our wet bodies (I was more like a cat; Dallas was a dog).

“Come on.” He jerked his hand out to me and I proceeded by wrapping my arm under his. Dallas smelt good. Really good. And his hair was still wet from the water, and it made him look younger. No matter how sexy and mountainous Dallas was, he always reminded me of a little kid; he just had this little spark. Especially that dimple in his right cheek; it made his smile brighter and younger. As we walked, he started a conversation:
“What are you doing later?”

I thought for a second. “Nothing really, probably watch a movie.”

“Hm. Okay,” Dallas flatly said. (If someone asks a question like that, shouldn’t they offer to hang out?) I was thinking about my question when Dallas asked, “Do you want to come over?”

“I’d love to.” I grinned but he just rolled his eyes. “When did you ever become so generous?”

Dallas gave my butt a hard smack (he was really an ass guy). He broke from my embrace, then turned around to me and walked backwards.
“I’ve been generous all my life. I just don’t need any help,” Dallas smirked.

“Oh, please. You’re as generous as a rock,” I laughed, trying to throw him off—which I did.

“A rock? How don’t you know that rocks are really nice, they just don’t like you?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly. We don’t know if you’re actually nice, we just know that you’re a smartass.”

Dallas rolled his eyes and we continued walking.
====
Tao ran her cold fingers through my hair. “What the hell?!” I whispered.
“It was messed up,” she mouthed.

It was Monday, and we were sitting in Riate, listening to Brice talk about someone’s mom. The classrooms were all designed like the ones in college: a bunch of stairs, a gigantic-ass row of seats. And, we always sat in the last row back. Tao kicked her feet onto the desk and I gave her a sharp look; she pulled them down.

After Riate, the rest of the day zoomed by, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the library with all five of my books open on the table. In Spirit, I was reading about how it’s almost like a natural high when I cast a circle. Air was telling me about the power to “mist” myself—when I think about being invisible, and I pretty much become invisible. The thing that shocked me the most was what the back said:

Any and all of the Elements together will give one eternal powers…. Tusnced.

It said it was in another book! I trotted off to the front desk then smiled at Zara.
“Yes, darling?” she nonchalantly said. Her nose was in another book.

“Okay, uhm, I need a book. And, I think it is called Tusnced, for all of the powers,” I beamed. Another power would be so cool.

“Oh!” Zara tossed her book to the side and stood up. “Follow me, I’ll show you.” She waved a hand out and I followed her to the back room.

Bookshelves was all I saw. Dizam. I knew there were more books, but gosh! And Zara had read every single one—cover to cover! She walked me to a far bookshelf then sauntered down the narrow aisle. Zara stopped in front of frivehugic-thick books and seized them from the shelf.

“Tusnced, Reaxced, Quacvced, Fzaesced and Lopced. I highly suggest you finish these soon, they’ll be much help to you. I know you’re a bit troubled with non-existent powers, but, they’ll always come back. Here,” she smiled.

I thought I was holding a live human. “Thank you,” I weakly smiled. “Now, I’m gonna leave before I die of muscle strain.”

Zara chuckled as I quickly left the back room. Kicking the door closed behind me, I headed back to my work area, and I saw Dad down the bookshelf aisle. He was searching for something particular. I sat the books down then ran down to him.
“Hi.” I smiled.

Dad glanced at me. “Hello, Eris. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be finishing homework—”

“Finished. Now I’m studying.”

“Oh, ok. Well, you’re a bookworm, so, what are you studying? It has to be something interesting,” Dad smiled. His green eyes sparkled at me.

“My powers. Ya remember how Tao and I cast the circles? Well, I added Spirit, and, now I’m curious and reading the books Zara gave me. Oh, there’s another power that has to do with them, but that comes when I’m older.”

Dad nodded as he grabbed a book. “Hmph, that’s good.” He grinned at me. “Did you tell Nolan happy birthday?”

“32 and counting, though he looks 18,” I winked up at Dad.

“Eris, you must be attracted to older men.”

My eyes got wide, but Dad kept his gaze light-hearted, and I could see he was trying to hide a smile. “Dad! Not appropriate,” I scoffed, playfully punching his arm.

“You’re right, that wasn’t nice. Well, do you remember my 22-year rule?” he asked.

“OhmyGod, Dad. Please stop.” I cradled my face in my hands. I took a deep breath then answered, “No babies, or cutting my hair until I’m 22.”

Dad patted my shoulder. “Bingo. Now, I have to go and meet with a Prof. Bye, kiddo.” He kissed my cheek and left.

Damn, I really hated his rules. No, let me reword that: that rule got annoying. Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna have any baby-Daddy-drama for sure, I did not want that type of life. And, I liked my hair like this. Thinking about how I’d appear with short hair, I walked back to my table and got back to the books. Hell, these four new books would take twice as long to read; I was estimating a mere 2,000 pages—long-ass pages–full of Riate terms. But, it still had some english. Twenty or so minutes into reading Reaxced, my phone buzzed loudly on the glass table.
Dallas: Where r u?

I snatched up my phone and replied.

Me: Not with u.
Dallas: Answr me
Me: Library
Dallas: good. I’ll b there

(Sigh) And, here comes Dallas. I replied then sat my phone back onto the table, continuing on my page. A few minutes later, there was a hand covering my eyes and a sexy humming over my head.
“Dallas…” I irritably said.

“Hello,” he replied, bending down and kissing my lips.

Dallas released me then went to the chair diagonally from me. I gave a fake smile and continued reading.
“May I ask what you’re reading?” he asked.

“No,” I flatly replied.

“That’s cool.” Dallas swiped a book from the table and started reading. “Why—”

“Ya know,” I interrupted, “for a man who doesn’t go to school, you sure as hell like to come to the library… and annoy me.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Eris. You make me proud, but, I wanted to know why you’re reading these. These have nothing to do with your strength.”

“Katniss, I didn’t ask for your input.”

“No, I was an archer before Katniss made it cool. But, would that make you my Peeta?”

“Yeah, I’m the one who choked you,” I grumbled.

Dallas bit his lip and shut up. But, he started humming soon after… his leg was going a million miles… and he was talking a lot… and his energy was through the roof…
“Are you okay?” I asked.

His blue eyes shot up. “Yeah, I’m just bored,” Dallas sighed.

“Well, go home and play with the sisters.”

“Govea got back late last night, and, Hannah and Harley don’t like me.” He laughed at himself.

“Oh, sorry. Well—” I sat up straight and put the book back on the table—“you could help me with these books. And, I think you should get an idea to cast your own circle soon.”

“Hell no, Eris. What do I need to cast circle for?”

“Uhm, for a lot of shit. You could rid yourself of smartass, you could be more connected to Archery, or, you could even get Hannah and Harley to be your friends!”

Dallas crossed over to my seat and switched places with me. He sat me in his lap then wrapped his arm around my backside. “Okay,” Dallas sighed. “Read, I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you! And, I’ll go get a book for you,” I squealed, hopping out of his lap and running back to the front desk.

Zara looked up at me as I asked for the book. She handed me a thick book called Lyacve, then I hurried back to Dallas. He had his face in my book, with his forearms resting on his knees. Dallas glanced up. “Got it?”

“Yup, but take it before I die,” I said, passing the large tome to him.

Dallas read a few pages then his eyes got wide as he looked me dead in the eye. “Did you know that I could bless a bow? I did not know that!”

“See? Perks of having an amazing Eris as your girlfriend.” I put my hands beneath my chin and sweetly smiled.

Dallas stuck his tongue out then continued reading.

Two hours later, we were still in the library, reading and noting some enthralling stuff in our books. Hell, I didn’t know that Dallas could read so fast; he made me feel slow. He had two of his own Archery books on the table, and I had mine on my side. I checked my watch: 7:32, so I had a bit of time before curfew. The good thing was that the library wasn’t all that crowded, and I liked the quiet air—except for Zara ruffling around papers a bookshelf behind us. Wait, what?
“Zara?” I called out.

“I’m just checking,” she called back.

“No, we’re not making out,” Dallas added, smiling at me.

I bit my lip then curled up with my book. Honestly, I had no idea that Dallas liked reading; he barely talked while he was focused on the text. Directly at 8:00, we closed our books at the same time.
“Don’t copy me,” I smirked, setting the book on the table.

“I’ll try to more often. So, did you eat?” he asked.

“No. Are you asking to buy me food?” I grabbed my chest and made my mouth a perfect o. “Nooooooo.”

Dallas mimicked me in his cute way. “Yes.”

I smiled then nodded. “I’d love to eat with you. Are you gonna take them books home?”

“Those, proper grammar.” Dallas made a face. “Yeah, come on.”

“Yeah isn’t a word. It’s yes.”

He curled his lip as we gathered our stuff. I had my cross-over bag with me, so I stuffed my books into it and Dallas carried his under his arm. (We would come off as a nerdy couple.) We said goodbye to Zara, but she was in the back room. Her head popped out.
“Bye, you two. Keep those if you need,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” Dallas replied, stepping through the door with me. We went to the cafe, grabbed some late dinner and talked for a bit before it was 9pm. Dallas walked me back to the dorms, then stopped to sit me down.
“I have to go somewhere soon,” he gently said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Louisiana. My cousin wants to see me, and, hunting. So, I just wanted to tell you before Wednesday—when I leave.”

I rolled my lips in and out. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you when you get back, ” I looked into his brown eyes.

“Yeah—Wait!” Dallas’ outburst scared me a bit. “Go upstairs, change, grab whatever, you’re staying at my place.”

“O-okay, but you didn’t have to scream.” I flicked his head and Dallas smiled. “Give me 10 minutes, and I swear I’ll be back.”

Dallas stood up. “Even better, I’ll head down for you. Hurry up.” He walked the other way and I darted inside.

Five minutes was all I was giving myself to change, grab clothes for tomorrow morning, and put my stuff away. Tao was in her bed, listening to Kenny and on her cellphone. She went bug-eyed when I started removing my clothes and running around.
“What are you doing?”

“Dallas,” I yelled from the closet.

Tao snickered. “Okay. And, don’t be late in the morning or anything. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”

“Got it. Do you have my Domo Kun hoodie?” (We were geeks.)

Tao tossed it from under her bed. I had on a pair of Nike track shorts, with a black tanktop and my hoodie zipped over it, and I had managed to tie my hair into a messy knot. Hell, it was nighttime, it was time to get lazy and not care. Anyway, I grabbed my bag and waved to Tao.
“Have fun.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

I quickly shut the door then sprinted down the hallway. Sneaking out was fairly easy, few to none of the Professors walked around campus at night, and the dorms were close enough to stay hidden in the shadows. But, the only thing stopping me were the Sons of Erebus. I guess Brice and Lena had called them in for something; which meant I couldn’t pass by the mansion (though the mansion was 6 miles out from any other building. But the Sons knew how to cover ground). Lucky me, I had a shortcut through Ria. 200—there was a tree that was struck by lightning a few years back, and the split bark leaned closer toward the apartments. So I ran through the tall oaks until I saw it, then threw my bag over.

Hopping through the tree was easy—not cutting my leg wasn’t.
“Shit!”

Ugh, it really sucked being such a klutz. Anywho, I snatched up my bag then ran to the apartment building. (Aya had told me about the tree.) Knocking on Dallas’ door, I heard something. From next door…. I was about to step over to Bear’s door but Dallas yanked me into the foyer.
“Agh!” I unattractively exclaimed.

“Shush!” Dallas hissed.

I shut up and waited… He roughly pulled me into the bedroom then told me to sit still. I placed my bag on the hook. Dallas reached behind the bed and pushed it to the side a bit.
“Come here. Silently,” he whispered.

I went there. Silently.

He was pressed against my back as we listened through the wall.
“Maybe it was—”

“Shut up! You’re an immature idiot, and you treat everything like a game! You and your brother have no respect for yourselves nor others, and it is very stressing to have one eye on two 21 year-old kids, and the other on others!”

That. Was. Harsh. The first voice had been Bear, and the second to interrupt him was Lena. At least I knew she wasn’t meeting with the Sons.

“Okay,” this was Bull. “Lena, can we please talk to our—”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t care for Chryseis, nor you two. Since when is it rational to eliminate two dragons? Or six gargoyles? It is quite a shame that I can’t come back to campus with a good report; there will always be a set of Twins to piss me off. I hope that we’ll not have this problem again, because there will be extreme consequences.” She slammed a door and departed. (Is this her way of a grand homecoming?)

Two seconds later, Dallas’ front door opened and in came a storm. Bull and Bear weren’t fazed by it, but they weren’t quiet about it, either.
“Bullshit,” Bear grumbled.

“For once in my life, I want to rip someone’s throat out and stomp on them to death,” Bull added.

Dallas stood up. “What does she think you did?”

“2 dragons—”

“—6 gargoyles—”

“—and, stole a sword from Professor Hyllus.”

I barely listened after that. Two dragons, six gargoyles, and even stole something? Hey, Bear might be evil, but he and his brother would never think to do something like that. This was utter and complete bullshit. So much bullshit that I couldn’t even imagine how Chryseis would take it—she’d probably yell or stab them. (Kidding!) Did Brice know about this? Is that why he asked me for Bear late last week? And, when dragons & gargoyles are killed, or when something is stolen, the Professors and Warriors stop at nothing to find out who did it. Damn. Just to think, Lena hasn’t blamed it on anyone except Dallas and the Twins—could there be a reason? Come to think of it, the last time something like this happened, it was a stupid Sio (Junior) who did it. But, she and Brice found out that the girl didn’t know she’d killed the dragon, so they forgave her. It sure as hell wasn’t the same for Dallas or the Twins—Lena just jumped to some silly conclusion to make it them. I mean, I get that they’re older, but, really? And, Lena has been trying to rip my throat out for dating Dallas, and it’s not like I did anything! Right? And, Brice was never the one to alert them! Cruel. That bitch was just cruel. I knew that it wasn’t a coincidence anymore, but Lena was trying to do this. Oh, and why not have it happen when Eris’s best friend loses her powers and they have to cast a circle so their brains don’t explode? WELL, HELL!

“Eris.” I looked up to Bull’s sweet smile. “Two things: do you want me to fix your legs, and, you do know we can hear everything you just thought?”

I nodded and made a face before coming to the edge of the bed. Bull waved his hand over my leg, and once again, I had the warm feeling of doves fluttering around in my stomach. He pulled back and I was fixed up.
“Thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, Domo,” Bull solemnly said.

“Don’t call me Domo, Domo.”

“Don’t you mean homo??” he replied.

“Derogatory term,” I chuckled, following them out of the bedroom.

“Look,” Bear sighed, “Bitch Monster Lena is trying to chew our asses out, especially me. So, Eris, can you use that little, Air power you have to kill her?”

We all sat on the couch and the chairs.

“No,” I answered. “One, I don’t have my powers back. Two, that would only be possible if I was in a circle, then I could help. Three, ask your mom what she thinks. Mothers always have the best perspective—mostly. But, ask her if she thinks you did it. If she says something like, ‘That’s not the point, my point is…,’ then don’t let her talk.”

“And, ask other Professors. They know more than us, so, Lena probably has some secret committee to hate on y’all,” Dallas added.

Bull nodded. “You’re right. Plus, the Sons of Alke, and the Sons of Erebus have been around lately–and they are so hot–so, maybe those dragons and gargoyles being killed is an even bigger deal.”

“I guess.” Bear stood up after his brother. “Eris, get to school on time, we have to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, brother,” I giggled, cuddling up on Dallas’ side.

“And you—” Bull directed his eyes to Dallas “—don’t sleep in. We have to do a bit more tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Dallas said, wrapping his arm around me.

The Twins exited the door then softly pulled it closed. Dallas let out a deep breath.
“Do you think she has a legitimate reason?” I blurted.

“Of course not. Nor does she have the right to say something like that,” he replied. I cupped the side of his neck and Dallas put his hand on my lower back. We sat for a while, then he carried me to the bedroom and tossed me into the bed. Before I could even pull the covers back, Harley and Hannah swopped into the room, with their impressive wings keeping them aloft.
“You two, out,” Dallas barked at them.

Hannah landed on the dresser and cawed at him, Harley got in the chair.

“Xan hsuvo liud nuuw,” Dallas firmly repeated.

They finally got the message then flew out the window and to wherever. Dallas shut the window and looked over at me. I yanked off my Domo hoodie then tossed it to the chair.
“Cute,” he said as he crawled under the covers with me.

“Uhm, shouldn’t you get into your pajamas?” I asked.

“It’s naked or everything, there’s no in between.”

“We can do naked.”

Dallas lightly hit me with a pillow.”Get to sleep before I suffocate you with this,” he joked.

I grabbed another pillow and hit him even harder, but Dallas put his hand on my arm. He pulled me into his tight embrace, hugging me down against the pillow.
“Dallas! I’m gonna die,” I giggled.

“Don’t die, go to bed,” Dallas responded. He pushed into me from behind and laid on his back. I stayed on my stomach, cradling the pillow to my chest.
“Goodnight, Eris.”

“I love you.”

I’m pretty sure that I went to bed before him, because I was out in two seconds.
====
Sahmi was talking about our powers and bodies as we got older. He asked a question,
“What are the three main body types?”

No one raised their hand. Wait… For real?! I raised my hand and Sahmi directed his gaze to me.
“Ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph,” I answered.

“Good. Wanna describe the differences?” Sahmi gave me a secret wink.

“Well, Ectomorphs are lanky, not a lot of body fat, and lean muscles. Mesomorph is medium, ya know, tall and athletic. And, Endomorph is kinda bulky, curvy or even just rounder.”

Most of Rian kids had been in Rianate all their lives, and even the smallest things were so easy to forget, since there were different ways to live here. But, hell, I had almost forgotten them, so, I couldn’t really talk.

Sahmi nodded. “So, you should be able to tell what type you are, all of our bodies are pretty much done growing. And…”

“How did you know that?” Tao whispered to me.

I turned to my left and met her icy eyes. “Magic.” She flipped me off and we continued listening to Sahmi.

After Riate and lunch, then came Art—and it seemed like Verc was in a good mood. But, we honestly never knew with her. She assigned us a project: an abstract painting, using only the colors yellow and blue. With a partner.

Tao spilled some blue paint into our little jar, while I mixed the yellow into hers. We were mixing and talking and preparing to paint when Verc announced something.
“This is a challenge for anyone who wants it: use wax on the canvas. See how that works.”

Wax? Oh! Once, I melted crayons on the lamp at home and the wax got everywhere, but it still came out pretty! I leaned over to Tao.
“Hey, crayons,” I whispered.

“Crayons? Hun, we’re not five,” she quietly chuckled.

“The wax. We can ask Verc for a candle or blow dryer.”

Tao stopped and thought… Her face was priceless. “Yes! Come on, let’s ask.”

We hurried over to Verc’s desk then smiled (we had to be suck-ups for the moment). She looked up with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, girls?”

“Okay, two things: do you have crayons and, a candle or blow dryer?” Tao asked.

“Yes. Is that gonna be your wax?”

“Mmhmm, blue and yellow crayons,” I added.

She stood up. Verc led us to one of the six closets lined on the back wall, and opened the door. Whoa. Who knew there were so many crayon colors?!

Tao chose three dark blues, and four bright yellows; I grabbed two light blues and a golden yellow. Verc shut the door then pointed to another one.
“There are candles, but no blow dryers,” she said.

“Thank you,” we smiled.

I told Tao to get situated at the canvas, and I was to grab the candles. Two people means two candles. Whoa again. In rainbow order, Verc had over 30 candles on the six shelves, and they ranged from short and stubby to talk and skinny. The skinny blue one caught my eye, so I reached in and grabbed it. There was also a skinny yellow one. (Way to follow through with the color.)

I walked back to Tao and nodded. Before Verc had announced the wax, we had smudged blue and yellow shades onto the canvas to rid of any white spots. And Tao had lined the peeled crayons on the top of the canvas, so when the wax melted, it dripped down over the paint.
“Okay.” I smiled then lit the candles. “You’re any color you want.”

“Thanks,” Tao said as she grabbed the blue candle. We barely even had to touch the flame to the crayons for them to start melting blue and yellow wax.

Art was really good (we weren’t done with our wax painting), and Math was just the same. After Math, Dallas texted me to come to his place so we could hang out once more before he left. Alright. I skipped Affinity Hour (like I had been doing for a month) then walked down to Ria. 24.

I walked in through Dallas’ door and heard how annoyed he was.
“Harley, I will be happy to deep fry you,” Dallas groaned.

Harley “yelled” back at him.

“I’m older! What are you gonna do about it, run off to Hannah?!”

Caaaaaaaghhw.

“It’s not gonna be funny when you’re on a plate… And all of your precious little feathers are plucked off from your body… And some weirdo in Kansas wants to eat you for dinner!”

I was standing in the doorway of the bow room, listening and watching them argue. Harley was trying to touch the bow Dallas was holding, but Dallas kept swatting his talon. He literally looked like a little kid trying to touch the water with his toe, but he didn’t know if it was warm or cold.
“Stop it, Harley!” Dallas exclaimed.

Caweeeeeagh.

“You eat vulture vomit!”

Cagghhhhhhh.

Harley flew up and practically screamed at Dallas. They reminded me of dysfunctional brothers: always arguing, hate each other, hurt each other, but they did everything together. Dallas put the bow back, Harley mimicked him by moving his gigantic wings out. Dallas turned around and waved at me, Harley turned his neck and lifted a wing at me.
“Vulture vomit?” I grimaced.

“Yeah, it is disgusting.” Dallas kissed my nose. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, kinda mad that you have to leave.”

“Sorry. But, a week without Harley is heaven.”

Harley made a grunting sound then flew out of the room. He really hated Dallas.
“So,” I said, “what are you doing?”

“Choosing one to take,” he answered.

“Hmm. Pick a color: red or black?”

Dallas thought for a second. “Red.”

I grabbed his bow with red bolts. Dallas made a “duh” sound as he took them.
“Thanks, that was easier than I thought,” he smiled.

“No need to thank me. Just worship me,” I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Dallas gave me a big kiss and squeezed my ass in his large hand. I broke away.
“Have you seen my hoodie? I think I left it,” I said.

“I dunno.” Dallas pulled away and walked out to the living room. “With Harley and Hannah, anything they find is automatically theirs. So, don’t count on finding it.”

“Eh, whatever. Can I—”

“Eris, you’ve asked enough questions. Shzhh.” Dallas waved his hands in my face.

“Well, gosh. Anywho, I was asking to ask you a question. So, may I ask another question so I can stop asking questions and we’ll be question-free?”

“What do you possibly want,” he flatly sighed.

I smiled. “Wait, so I can ask the question?”

“Eris!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But, I was just asking if you seriously want to cast a circle. Ya know, I’ve got this shit down. And, I think I’m casting one next month, or, whenever I have some free-time.”

“Well,” Dallas said, “that’s great, but, I don’t need one. Why can’t I just watch you?” He grinned, looking like a handsome little boy.

“No, Dallas. Do you know how awkward it is to have some idiot staring you down while you’re trying to concentrate?”

“Just block me out.”

I looked him dead in the eyes, and Dallas stared back harder. He hit my arm and I blinked.
“Damnit!”

“Haha,” Dallas smirked, poking my shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” I frowned.

He kissed my forehead then sat back on the couch. I wrapped my arms around his neck as Dallas cut on the tv; he rested a warm hand on my thigh. As I adjusted my body on the cushion, I reached behind my back and grabbed the pen that was secured on my belt loop. I had been drawing on my hand in Math, but I forgot to take the pen off. I hovered over my hand and finished the doodle I had started. I covered the entire back of my hand with a detailed drawing of a sacred heart; it was a design I’d been sketching since I was eleven. It had flames dancing up the back, a crown of thorns on top of it, a spray of roses along the bottom, and in the center I drew a scrolling banner with my name in the center. Dallas peaked over and seized my hand.
“Wow, that’s good. Nice,” he frowned in approval.

I bit my lip. “That’s not even half of what I started in class.” I rolled my sleeve up and Dallas chuckled.

“You should be a tattoo artist; you have a lot of creativity buried inside of you.”

“That’s actually my dream job.” I smiled and Dallas stroked my bare thigh. His hand went higher up, up until I gasped at his warm touch by my covered sex.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop here,” Dallas chuckled. He brought his hand back down and I sighed. That sigh made the rest of my body realize how tired I was, so I sprawled out on his chest and Dallas put his hand on my hip.

“Good afternoon,” I yawned.

“Good afternoon, Avatar,” he laughed.

My eyes shut on instinct, and I only paid attention to the beat of Dallas’ heart. Bum… bum… bum… bum… zzzzzzz.
====
END OF PART 5
I ended the story with Eris sleeping because I didn’t want to blow your brains out with boring shit. This part isn’t all that important, and I didn’t just want to bullshit it. Part 6 will definitely be up tomorrow night.

-L11

---

The clock was ticking at the same beat of my fingers tapping on the desktop. Tick, tock, Eris. Tip, Tap, Eris. You’re gonna ace this test—hopefully. And right now was one of those times that I knew I was gonna massacre. Easy stuff, we learned the majority of it that month, so, it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Okay,” Nanaya announced. “You all may begin.”

Eris Faye was the first thing I scribbled down. Tao tapped me on my hand and I looked over to see her icy blue eyes all confused. I wrote down the answer to number one; she hit herself on the forehead, mouthing, “Duh.” For a five-page test, it was fairly easy to finish in less than 90 minutes and have on Nanaya’s desk.

After History was over, Tao raced down with me to Body Science so we could ask Sahmi about our next quiz. When we got in, Sahmi was sitting on top of the desk, with a pencil floating in front of his face. His affinity was Gravity, and it was amazing to watch him.
“Sahmi?” Tao blurted.

“My ears are open and my eyes are directed on yours,” Sahmi replied, looking directly into Tao’s eyes and snatching the pencil out of the air.

“U-uh—”

“She wants to know about our upcoming quiz,” I snickered, finishing her beautiful sentence.

Sahmi made a face. “Sa quf pors whi acneme duso?” Translated to English, that meant: “And, what would you like to know about the quiz?”

“What type of questions there are,” Tao answered. “I don’t like multiple choice because it messes me up, and writing is a big no, my nails are mucho too importanto!”

He chuckled at her “accurate” Spanish. “Well, Tao, see me after class, we’ll figure something out.” Sahmi winked at her just before the bell rang.

We darted to our seats then pulled out the assignment Sahmi wanted us to do in our textbooks. Following Body Science, I went to Riate and Brice called me over to his desk… What did I do?!

“Hello,” I said, showing the sign of respect.

“Hello, Eris. Uhm, have you seen Caine Prath lately?” he asked.

“Yeah, just yesterday. Why?”

“Lena needs him. Thank you, Goddess, merry part.”

(I loved how they referred to us as Gods and Goddess.) I ran off to my seat, then Tao walked in with a late pass to Brice. She joined me in the back and put her feet up on the desk.

As class progressed, I had a thought of Aya and did I ever give her that necklace. It was late January, and Tao and I had moved on with crying ourselves to sleep about Aya; we knew better than being little brats about it. Two weeks ago, we spread her ashes in my backyard, so we always knew where she was and how we could be connected to her. That was one thing I was happy about, others, not so much.

My Elements still weren’t working, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as last month. Turns out, the Elements made my reflexes stronger (I have no idea why) and it made me super alert during class. So, that was good. And, Dallas had been so good to me, like always. After Riate, we had lunch (walking tacos) then headed off to Art, and I was super happy because Verc was in a good mood. She had us create an abstract painting of what our affinity was in our own eyes; not what it was meant to be or what other people thought.

So, I splattered red and blue and white and green paint on the canvas, then used my pinky finger to swirl it around. The colors actually looked great, the white made everything a tad lighter. Just to be more creative, I even threw in some teal to describe myself. Verc had been circulating the room, but when she saw me, she stopped.
“Amazing work, Eris,” Verc grinned.

“You like it? I’m rethinking the red now that I added the teal… ” I softly replied, frowning at the bright red paint.

“No! That’s beautiful, and if anything were to change, I’d say to throw you in the paint.”

Verc patted my lower back then went on to do her business, leaving me to observe my work. The bell rang and Tao dragged me off to Math. Affinity Hour came quicker than I expected, so I decided to go and visit Govea.

I crept into the steel door and took in the aroma of the dragons. (They all smelt like vanilla mixed with cinnamon—very pleasing.) Down a few rows, I heard Govea’s deep laughter and a dragon cutely roaring back at him. I called out his name, then Govea peeked his head out from the last row of enclosures.
“Just the person.” He smiled. “Wanna meet the babies?”

“Babies?” I started walking closer and Govea went back to his place. My heart exploded when I saw the two baby dragons in the basket.

The first was a pretty pink, with an orange streak of scales going down her back. The other was a deep blue with a yellow streak of scales down her back; they were adorable.
“Meet Ripley and Riva: our new baby girls,” Govea smiled.

I gasped at Ripley’s cute little sneeze. (Ripley was blue; Riva was pink.) “I want to eat them,” I chuckled.

“Well, don’t. They need more than 17 hours to live, Eris.”

“I’ll save you guys for later.”

Ripley let out another sneeze and her scales poofed out; her sister used her small wing to gently pat her back.
“They’re a bit sick. Mama had a bad cold during birth,” Govea said, observing their tiny bodies.

“It’s an inherited trait, huh?” I smiled at Riva and she made an impressive attempt to do the same.

A good minute into talking with Govea, I heard another voice from behind me. “Well, what do ya know, Eris is in here with Govea.”

I turned around and saw Dallas approaching from a row behind. He gave me a soft kiss then looked at the babies.
“You’re cuter than I expected,” Dallas smiled, waving at them.

Riva sneezed and she shot up into the air—literally. She was flapping her little wings while she tried not to fall and break her face. Govea was a few feet away, so Dallas quickly grabbed her and she let out a baby sigh of relief.
“They are very sick,” Govea muttered, with his hand rubbing his chin in thought. “Say, Dallas, would you mind watching them while I’m gone? I have to make a quick stop in Ohio, but I don’t want them to be overwhelmed alone.”

“Uh, I guess. Harley can’t be around them, can he?” Dallas replied.

“I’m afraid not. Have he and Hannah stay at your Yard, they are far too rough to be around newborns.”

Dallas nodded and Govea thanked him again. Huh, Dallas with babies?! This. Will. Be. Hilarious. I picked up Ripley then waved to Govea. “I’ll make sure Dallas doesn’t kill them.”

“Me?! Please, I’m amazing with animals,” he scoffed.

“Says the one who kills them for a hobby,” Govea muttered under his breath. I laughed but Dallas made a boyish grunt as Govea shooed us off and we headed to the apartments.

As we walked, Riva kept trying to fly up, and Dallas had to hold her tight, but she sneezed every two seconds, so his grip was pretty pointless. He opened the door to his place, and we set the sisters free.

I plopped down on the couch, Dallas came over and laid across my lap.
“How was your day?” he asked as he cut the TV on.

“Fine.” I ran my fingers through his light hair. “How was yours?”

“You could say… terrible.”

“Why?”

Dallas’ violet eyes lifted to mine. “Because I say so. And, I got bit by Harley and Hannah. They just don’t like me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Would it make you feel better if I cooked for you?” I waggled my eyebrows down at him.

“Hmm, what will you make me?”

“I’m not telling you. Shut up and sit down.”

“Eris, that’s not very nice. You should apologize.” Dallas made his puppy-dog eyes.

“Dallas,” I mocked, “that’s not very nice. I think you should apologize.” I stuck my tongue out before running back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, I was still in the kitchen, listening to music and making this sandwich for him. Something was moving behind me… I whipped my head around and saw Dallas hop onto the counter then smile. I yanked my headphones out and laughed. “What the shit?! Go back in there.”

“Unless you want to be burned, turn around and make me a sandwich,” Dallas said, being his traditional smartass.

I stuck my hand in the drawer then pulled out something. “I know you didn’t just tell me to make you a sandwich,” I growled as I pointed the blade at him.

Dallas shrugged. “Okay, make me a grilled cheese sandwich.”

I dropped the knife back into the drawer then finished the sandwich. Cutting off the stove, I passed Dallas the plate and he took a gigantic bite.
His eyes got wide. “Awh, bitchin! There’s pepperoni!”

“Really?! I didn’t know.” I made a fake gasp but Dallas just nodded.

“Pepperoni.” He took another bite and rolled his eyes to the back of his head while he moaned.

“Is it that good?” I giggled and mimicked his face.

Dallas nodded. “It’s that good.”

“You’re welcome.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek then ran off to the living room to watch the game.

Dallas finished up in the kitchen, and took his medicine before coming to sit with me. He pulled my legs into his lap and grazed his fingertips over my covered skin—but it still felt like he was trying to tickle me. I wiggled from his grinp and he gave me a death stare.
“Quit moving,” Dallas huffed.

“No, you’re gonna molest me,” I giggled, tucking my knees to my chest.

“Molest you? I mean, I know that you’re into some freaky shit, but molest—”

I hurled a pillow at him and Dallas flopped back on the couch. He quickly threw the pillow back but I covered my head. Dallas yanked my leg again, then laid me on his lap and started tickling me.
“Dallas, stop! I will punch you in the throat!”

He dropped his hands and started laughing. I took advantage and pushed him back on the cushions, straddling his lean hips.
“Hey! That’s not fair,” Dallas chuckled.

“Life isn’t fair. Don’t tickle me unless you wanna wake up dead,” I growled while pinning his arms back.

“Wake up dead? How much sense does that make?”

“I dunno, do you wanna test that theory? Because I will—”

Dallas hit me with another pillow and I flipped back the other way. Damn, I never knew a pillow hurt that much! He had his turn on top then kissed my neck, but I pushed him onto his back then sat up straight. Dallas got up, then wrapped his arm around my upper back, pulling me closer to his warm body. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the smell of his yummy cologne; Dallas always smelt so fucking good. He must’ve noticed my sniffing because he pushed the side of my face.
“Hey!” I blew a strand of hair out of my face before sticking my tongue out at him.

“Don’t sniff people, you’re not a dog,” Dallas said.

I started to kiss on his neck, and Dallas sighed (I had my ways). He put his hands on my midriff, then slid his hand down to cup my ass while I grinded my hips down onto his.
“Hey,” Dallas laughed. “Don’t start something.”

I swung my legs the other way then straddled him backwards. Dallas put his face in the crook of my neck and started to lightly kiss me, with his tongue trailing up the side of my neck and to my ear. He was in love with my ears (not in the creepy way) because he loved to play with my earrings and piercings. On the left, I had an industrial piercing, a double hoop helix with tiny blue barbells, and two studs in the lobe. On the right, I had four tiny hoops in the lobe, another single helix, and a forward helix. He loved to tug and lick on them, and it made me crazy.
“Mmm,” I smiled. Dallas moved to my lobe and nibbled the pink ball I had in.

“You taste good,” he whispered. Damn, his warm breath made me moan.

“Well, I do like to taste good,” I giggled.

“Of course you love to taste good. Because I’m the only one who gets to ever taste you.”

I twisted my neck and glared at him. “Oh, really?”

“Yes really, Eris.” He gave me a small peck. I went in again and pushed Dallas back onto the soft cushions of the couch. He looked directly between my legs, obviously thinking about what was covered by my skin-tight leggings. I poked his stomach.

“Don’t look, I wore clothes for a reason,” I chuckled.

Dallas put his head back. “Meanie,” he pouted. Oh no, not the pout! Dallas made thee cutest pouty face, and thee cutest puppy eyes, and I always felt bad.

“No, Dallas! Please don’t, I’ll feel like shit!” I sighed. I put my face in my hands and Dallas started laughing.

“Alright, alright. Come on, I’ll let you leave this time since you have homework.”

I crawled out of his lap then sat up. Dallas walked me to the front door and leaned against the frame before bending down to kiss me. “I love you, don’t text me later,” he said.

I made a hurt face. “Damn. That was harsh.”

“What? I’m not gonna be up, I’m taking my ass to bed when you go.”

“Dallas, it’s only 6pm.”

“And? I slept terrible last night, so, I need to fix it by playing nocturnal.”

“Playing nocturnal? As in, sleep all day, party all night?” I laughed when he nodded.

“Yep, so, don’t text me.” Dallas wrapped me up in his thick arms. He put his hand on the base of my neck then whispered, “Next time, you won’t be leaving.”

“Oh really? And”—I pushed him away—”you won’t either, I may just tie you to the bed then molest you.”

Dallas down peered at me. “What is up with you and molesting?” he snickered.

I shrugged then hugged him around his neck and blew a kiss. “I love you.”

Behind his leg, Riva and Ripley looked at me like little kids—not really coming out, hiding behind Dallas. I waved to them then walked back to the dorms.

Right when I stepped the through the glass doors, my friends Giovanni and Ophelia stopped me.
“Hey, Eris,” Ophelia smiled. She had this bright pink, black and white hair, with dark eyes with vibrant rings of pink and white surrounding her pupils. Her affinity was Flexibility, and I liked to call her “Pretzel” because htere wasn’t a way she couldn’t turn her body.

She handed me a candle. “This is a gift from me and Gi, we wanted to say thanks for the advice.”

“Oh! Thanks! Everyone knows how I am about candles,” I giggled, observing the lavender candle. Last week, Giovanni was scared her powers were dying out because nothing was working, but I helped her locate her “inner Photography” and bring them back. But the unique thing was: Giovanni was Deaf, and Ophelia was her best friend.

Giovanni’s afifnity for Photography was astounding and she found art in everything she saw. Her dark blue eyes reflected her dark purple hair, and the ink of her Maxi swirled around her arms. She never used her disability as an excuse, and she was probably one of my closest friends!

“Thank you,” Giovanni signed, showing me the sign of respect at the end.

“You’re welcome, I gotta go. But I’m glad you got them back.” I smiled, bowed back then ran off to Tao.

Upstairs, I didn’t expect Tao to be sitting on the ground, with Mumble squawking and making a raucous. I giggled when he pecked her hand and made Tao squeal, “Ow!”

“Good job, Mumble. Keep it up,” I said.

“Ugh, hey. How was it with Dallas?”

I kicked my boots off, set the aromatic candle on the nightstand and leaned against the window.
“It was fine,” I sighed. “Hey, is Maz like, dead or something? He wasn’t in any classes, and he didn’t walk you to any Hours.” Tao rolled her eyes and clenched her fists on her knees.

“He’s being a complete asshole. His Dad took him through the portal, but I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday. And all he does is read my messages like they don’t exist,” she said. It was Thursday, so I knew Tao had to be going crazy.

I scoffed. “Well, at least you know he’s not dead. Alright, I have to change and finish my homework.” I peeled off my bottoms, tossed my shirt into the hamper then scampered along to the bathroom.

It took way longer to finish my homework, but after reading my book and playing with Mikey, I flopped down on the bed. Tao came over to me and sat on my legs, obviously prepared to ask me something.
“Yes?” I said from under my arms.

“You want a slushie? You look really tired, and, slushies work magic,” she smiled. I nodded, and Tao made me a cherry slushie.

I sipped the treat like a toddler, and Tao must’ve been happy because she made herself one–though it was just slush, no flavor. We ended up sleeping in the bed together, with our slushies on my nightstand.
====
Thank God the next day was Friday because I was mentally and physically exhausted. Seriously. On the History test, I got 100, and in Art, Verc displayed my work for an example. Wow, I really sounded like a goody-goody…. ew. After Math, I got texts on my phone from Bull.
Bull: Hey, are you done in class??
Me: Yes, why?
Bull: Come to the library.
Me: Fine.

I had already been heading toward the dorms, so I redirected and went to Ria. 57. When I opened the doors, I could see Bear and Bull talking with their mom, and obviously trying to tell her a joke. Bull saw me, then stood up and waved me over like an idiot with a grin so bright that he looked kind of like a mad man. Chryseis rolled her eyes at him when Bear gently punched her shoulder, and she punched him back even harder. She saw me then grinned.
“Hello, Eris. Merry meet,” Chryseis said.

“Hello. Uhm, what do you two want?” I asked the Twins.

They perked up and rose to their feet. “Oh! We need your help,” Bear deeply said.

“We don’t know how the Dewey Decimal System works… so can you help?” Bull gave me the biggest grin ever.

“I guess….”

“Eris, I suggest you run as far as possible; they’ll start depending on you like they’re lost puppies.” Chryseis gave them an annoyed look then smiled again before leaving.

“Ma!” Bear laughed. “That’s not nice!”

“I love you!” Bull called out.

I laughed when Chryseis turned around and gave them a playful finger.
“ What do you guys need?” I asked.

“Uhm, dragons. Particularly babies… that are sick… and shooting themselves into the air.”

“Ah, Riva and RIpley? They’re so cute! But, you left them alone with Dallas?”

Bear nodded as we crossed over to a bookshelf. “He isn’t that bad of a parent. Dallas turns on the game and they’re mesmerised.”

“Ya mean like you?” I glanced back at them as I handed them a thick book.

Bull carried the first book over to the lounge area, and I passed an even thicker one to Bear. He joined his brother in the red chairs then flipped them open.
“Goddamn!” They started coughing and waving their hands at the tons of dust from the book covers.

“Well, that was probably written in 1700 B.C.,” I sighed, kicking my feet up on the table.

Bear skimmed for a while then gasped, “I’ve found nothing!”
Bull took his turn then said, “Oh wow, there’s nothing useful in here!”

“Well, you’ve only read two pages, so, you should look a bit deeper. Pick a number, divide it by 2 or 4, then read that page.”

The Twins got their numbers then flipped through the books again. Bull found something and said, “It’s because mama had a dragon-flu!”

“And, they have terrible immune systems,” Bear mumbled, flipping through more pages as if he’d never held a book before. “This is so not English,” he chuckled.

Bear and Bull looked for a bit more then handed the books back to me like I was a servant. I looked at them as if they were crazy. “Since when am I your servant? God gave you two working legs, so use them.”

Bear made a groan and got louder while he stomped off to the bookshelf, same with Bull and his cute pout. They came back then looked at me like I was the devil.
“Problem? I’m just trying to keep you two in shape,” I deviously smiled but the Twins rolled their eyes.

“We gotta go and check on Dallas, are you coming?” Bull asked, standing up and running his fingers through his cloudy hair.

Every time I stared at his tresses, I just wondered how he made his clothes match something so bright. I was sure his hair was a brighter white than snow, and when I looked at Bear’s hair, it was darker than a summer night sky.

“Nah, I’m gonna stay here. Hey, Bear, can you go ask Zara for a book on Fire? And Earth? And Water? And Air?”

Bear turned the corner of his lip up into a sneer. “Uhm, do I look like a male stripper? Then don’t ask me to please you.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Caine.” Bull looked at him with bright grey eyes but Bear huffed air out of his nostrils.

“If you get it, I’ll buy you a smoothie,” I quickly bribed.

It took Bear about two seconds to sprint to the front desk and come back with the four books. He had an obsession with smoothies; there wasn’t anything Bear wouldn’t do for a smoothie. He gently passed them to me.
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Call me when you really need a smoothie.”

“Okay! Bye,” Bear said. He and Bull walked out of the library then went back to the apartments for Dallas.

Why did I need these books? Good question. Sometime that following week I wanted to cast a circle and “talk with” my affinity. Over a month without powers made me kinda antsy, so I made it a goal to cast a circle at least once so I didn’t freak-the-fuck-out. The books would just show me how to do it properly; no room for screwing up.

I sat the books on the table, side by side then opened the Air first. One thing from rituals I remembered was: Air, Fire, Water then Earth; call them in that order, dismiss them backwards. Since the Twins and Dallas gave me those candles, I’d been illuminating our dorm with them and concentrating on my homework (and it really worked). Casting a circle was completely different: I had to make sure I had a purified space; complete the circle; do it well; 10000000% of my attention is on the circle; have a purpose. Well, I had those answers and items. To purify the space, I could use the lavender batch Nana and Papa gave me, and weave it to make a scented braid. Completing the circle is easy: I just needed a certain amount of area with my candles in a compass organization. And, the rest was fairly easy to do or find or whatever. Studying the Riate words got very confusing, since I was used to the rituals being written in english. Some of the letters got turned over, some had extra lines, most had squiggly lines and twists, and I had to translate all of it! Well, after a difficult study, I picked up the books and crossed over to the colossal desk.

Zara was in her own little world, reading One for the Money and humming a tune.
“Zara—”

“AH!” Zara’s book flew out of her hand and she was all bug-eyed. She sighed when she realized it was me. “I’m sorry, Eris. Pardon me for startling you.”

That little scream she did made me jump. “It’s alright. And, you have a beautiful screaming voice, it is truly outstanding,” I smiled but Zara gave me a look.

She noticed the books against my chest and nodded. “Ah, casting circles, huh. Have any idea when you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, before this month is over.”

Zara nodded as she typed something into her computer, with her pink nails flying across the keyboard. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she had a cute flower crown on.
“Alright,” Zara grinned. “Feel free to keep them as long as you like, I won’t mind if they’re not returned.”

“Zara, I can’t just do something like that. That’s called stealing,” I was being serious but she laughed.

“Sweetie, it’s not considered stealing if I say you can have them. Heck, I’m the only Professor who’s read all 17,836 of these books, and, I have permission to give them to you. So, study long and hard, and have a great circle.”

She was right: her affinity (Reading, obviously) made her memorize chapters and lines from books, and it made her read twice as fast. So, if she said I could have them, there was no arguing.

I raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Zara wiggled her fingers at me and I exited the large glass doors.

Not only did I just get four gigantic books, but, I can reread and do an even better job on my circle. With my mental notes, I planned to cast the circle tomorrow, in the woods where it’s secluded and peaceful. I would make an addition to the lavender, and mix some dried eucalyptus to give it a yummy smell. The entire purpose of the circle would be to connect with my powers spiritually, more than just physically and emotionally. Oh! I had to use the candles Dallas and the Twins gave me, and I’d add another candle: the one Giovanni gave to me.

I’d use it for Spirit. I read that Spirit was an affinity, and categorized as an Element, so why not? The purple candle would be in the middle, with the other four in a perfect diamond to connect them all.

Seems like my circle was gonna be pretty darn good. While coming up the stairs in the dorms, my phone buzzed with a text from Dallas.
Dallas: what are u doing?
Me: Why?
Dallas: Answer my question, please.
Me: Going to my room. Why?

Dallas was just asking about his sweatshirt—I kinda took it last time I slept over. He wanted it back, but I wanted to keep it because it smelt like him and it was big and warm! Dallas said he’d steal it back, I highly doubted that he’d do it.

When I walked into the dorm room, Tao was coming out of the shower with a bit of cold smoke radiating from her wet body. She whirled around and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I waved and smiled back.

“What’d you do after school? I missed you last Hour,” Tao said as she searched for some clothes.

“Oh, the Twins needed me.”

“Hmm. And, what’s up with the books?” She slipped a shirt over her head and glanced at me.

I dropped the books on my desk then laid down on the bed. “Well, I’m casting a circle soon, so I just needed some review.”

“That’s awesome!” Tao clapped her hands together and gave me the happiest smile ever.

I smiled back as she stepped into a pair of gym shorts.

She sneered at her purse on the desk. “Poop. Well, I have to finish this for Kirsi”—Tao pulled a thin stack of papers out of her bag—”and I don’t feel like it.”

“Tao.” I snatched the papers from her. There were only four pages, so it shouldn’t have been that hard. “Half and half?”

“Honey, no. Thank you, I have to do this by myself, because this is stuff I don’t know. You know it, but I don’t.” Tao gently took the papers back and sashayed to her desk.

She put her iPhone on the speaker and turned on Kenny Chesney—oh God. I sat on my bed, listening to her sing along and do her homework. It was funny to watch Tao multitask, because she was super clumsy. The pen kept rolling off of the desktop, so she had to continuously bend over and pick it up. After the eighth time, Tao froze the writing utensil to the desk and continued working. (Great use of power.)

She closed her books and put her stuff away, saying, “Finished!”

“Good job, Tao Chesney,” I muttered.

“You know it. Hey, so I gotta tell you this story.”

“I’m listening…” I drew my eyes to her.

“So, one time when I was 14, there was this boy”—with Tao, there’s always a boy—”and he was real cute. And, I finally grew the tits to go over and say hi, but, I was just so nervous! I went over, he waved, and I freaked out! I accidentally froze his hand like—” Tao had her hands up, and there was a little spark of energy before the power shot out of the window, and sent a strong wind through the room. Tao got flung back onto her bed, and there was a big crackle of ice over our heads. After the ice stopped falling, I sat up and shook the tiny crystals out of my hair. Tao had not moved yet.

“Tao!” I scrambled out of bed and came over next to her, and she hugged me. “Are you okay?”

Her cold body felt even colder, and I was just scared that I would lose her. “That ain’t supposed to happen,” Tao nervously chuckled into my neck. I held her out at arm’s length then smiled.

I pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. But—” Tao flicked her hand out, with the intention of getting ice to hit the wall, but nothing happened. She tried over and over again until she was hyperventilating and frantically talking over me.

“Eris, Eris, my powers! What happened? Eris! Help, I dunno what—”

“Calm down,” I slowly and loudly said. Tao cradled her head in her hands. “Okay, we need to go and alert Brice, because that’s not normal.”

“Right,” she flatly said. Tao was stunned—in all of 14 years, she’d never lost her powers or anything. She grabbed a hoodie then stepped into her boots; I stepped into my shoes and we quickly went downstairs.

It was past curfew, but that was the least important thing right now. What was important was Tao. Some of the girls were sitting in the living room watching MTV, and one of those girls was Giovanni. I tapped her shoulder and her soft pink eyes locked on mine.
“What’s up?” she signed.

“Giovanni, we have to leave. It’s important, and we’re going to Brice. Just, don’t freak if we’re leaving after curfew,” I replied.

“Is everything okay? You look upset.” Her hands moved quickly, so I knew she wasn’t happy with what we were asking.

“Sorta. We… We’ll explain it later, but we have to go.” Tao and I bowed to her and she smiled back.

Tao and I burst out of the glass doors then hurriedly walked over to Ria. 84. (We knew we’d be in some deep shit if we were sprinting around like Usain Bolt—especially after curfew.) When we passed by the apartments, it was clear that there was a party going on, because chatter was beyond the roof. And a bunch of lights were on on the top floor. Tao grabbed my arm and said, “We might just have to run… I don’t want to take too long.”

“Eh, you’re right,” I nodded then we broke out into sprint.

By time we got there, Tao and I were both breathing a bit hard (we may or may not have run into a crazy gremlin).

We opened the doors and walked down the dark hallway to Brice’s office. From inside, we could hear Brice talking to someone—not to himself, but someone.
“Maybe you should tell that to your aunt, Karder,” he said.

Oh. He was talking to Xi and Karder—his sons. (The two men who escorted me into Rianate, and, they were the ones to take Aya’s body away.) I didn’t even figure that out until Dad told me, but, it made sense: they were a bit older than us (maybe 27-30 years old), they worked for Brice all the time, and they had Brice’s ,. (It just meant that Lena was their aunt.) And no one had seen Lena for a while, she went to Arizona for something. Anyway, Brice finished talking with them, then Xi and Karder passed us in the hall.
“Girls,” Xi asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the dorms? Curfew.”

“We need Brice, it’s far too important to wait,” Tao replied.

“Oh. Merry part,” Karder said, bowing to us. He and his brother quickly left to wherever they stayed—I think in the mansion. Tao took an intense breath, then slowly widened the heavy door…. Brice was standing with his back to us, sipping on wine from a silver goblet.

“Brice…” Tao faintly said.

He quickly turned to us with a raised eyebrow. “It is past curfew. You two shouldn’t—”

“Her powers are gone,” I blurted, inadvertently cutting him off.

His expression darkened. “What? Why has this happened? Show me, please.”

Tao started walking closer then flicked her wrist, but nothing…. nothing came out. She let out a frustrated sigh and plopped down in the leather wingback chair .
“I dunno what happened, Brice. We were in the dorm, and it didn’t work. It was like, some invisible force pushed my powers out of my body,” Tao explained, looking him dead in the eye. “The ceiling froze over, and the ice melted, crackled and fell onto us.”

“Hmm, well this is completely abnormal. Sit, Eris,” Brice said. I plopped down in the chair, Brice took his seat behind his desk and continuously stroked his bearded chin. “Now, it is completely peculiar… It’s never been that two Rio have lost their powers, and it’s never been two friends that it’s happened to.”

Tao and I shared a knowing look. She turned back to Brice then said, “What’re we going to do?”

“It’s not all that safe for us to be powerless,” I added.

He must’ve gotten an idea because his dark eyes lit up. “Well,” a smile crept onto his lips. “Asking for help always works.”

“Wha?” we dumbly huffed at once. I shook my head before saying, “Brice, what kind of help do you need? Everything is right in front of you, you practically own us.”

“Yeah, who’d be able to help?” Tao creased her brow.

“It’s not like I have an affinity for everything. Leave me, I’ll show you two tomorrow. But for now, avoid things that could harm you or your non-existent powers. After school, I think I’ll have something to help. Merry part.” He gently bowed to us, and we stood then bowed back.

Tao dragged me out of the doors and we started back to the dorms.

“Tomorrow? After school? What the shit, I lose my powers and now we’re playing tea party? Did he do this with you? How in the world are we supposed to get them back? Why did this happen? Please, tell me why. Because I don’t have an answer to any of my questions, and it’s tiring to be so overwhelmed and stressed out!” Tao frantically said, waving her cold hands around in front of her chest.

“Tao, it’s not so hard after a while. Brice knows what he’s doing, but, I’m not so sure about playing tea party either. We’ll just have to wait.” I gave her an apologetic smile; Tao rested her head on my shoulder.

We had been talking to Brice for a while, and it was nearing 1am. But, I couldn’t care less because that next day was Saturday, and, I had to make one more stop. I had decided to cast circle tomorrow night, but now that Tao’s powers were gone, we needed some extra candles. It was completely out of the norm for Rios to be out this late, and we had to go all the way over to the Rec Hall. In the Rec Hall where kids performed rituals or just hung out, there was another gigantic room—for candles. Literally hundreds of candles, row upon row upon row, just in this extra storage room. They were used for circles, or if someone wanted a candle for the night. And, the candles were based on affinity, and I knew there had to be some Ice ones in there.

I held Tao’s forearm as we entered the closed gates. The door wasn’t locked, but it was steel and it took both of us to open it. Tao shut the door after we got in, then followed me down to the room. We creaked open the next steel door and the different scents of candles hit us.
“It always smells good in here,” I grinned.

“What do we need? You have four candles for your circle,” Tao softly said as she observed the different candles.

“Yeah, those are for me, we need some for you.” I spotted the first light blue candle and made an “aha!” sound. Grabbing the first, my eyes lifted and I saw the second. Tao grabbed another, but we just had to find a fourth… Oh! (Trust me, this would be much harder if our vision wasn’t so good. There were well over a thousand candles in there.)

Tao seized the last and we quietly left the room, shutting the large door behind us. Ten minutes later, we were climbing up the stairs in the Girls’ Dorm and getting back to our room. I sat the candles on her shelf, Tao put hers next to mine. She turned to me as she stripped off her hoodie.
“So, you’re saying you’re gonna cast a circle for both of us?”

“No,” I corrected, “we’re gonna cast a circle for the both of us.”

“But, I dunno how to do that shit,” Tao sighed.

“Neither do I. Well, sorta—whatever. Tomorrow afternoon, stop at the library and read about yours, okay?”

Tao nodded as she crawled into the bed. “I’m hella tired, goodnight.”

I took off my clothes then flopped back onto the soft bedspread. Five seconds into laying down and relaxing, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Dallas: r u sleojaeping?

His typos made it clear that Dallas was shit-faced.

Me: Baby, get some sleep.
Dallas: HeAKJy nhl. paibSues wqhxat?

This was one of those times when autocorrect did not want to correct him.

Me: Dallas.

Dallas: Nothing. naijJusjnvSayingqmxks

He was drunk. Seriously.

Me: Go to bed, good night.

Dallas sent a few random letters then continued blowing me up. I didn’t bother checking my phone every time it buzzed, Dallas was just sending me random words like “hey” or “Eris” or “wake up” or “hah,” just drunk stuff. (At least I know he was at that party.) My notifications started signaling phone calls (Dallas was a drunk-caller), and they lasted about two seconds. Many phone calls and text messages later, I slowly closed my eyes and got to sleep.
====
I knew the second I should’ve woken up to check on Dallas because he interrupted my dream. I had been lying out in the sun (sunny weather is the bomb) on a big, heart-shaped floatie in the middle of a lake made of Sprite (who knows?), when all of a sudden everything disappeared and Dallas’ voice burst into my skull.
“You’re too young to sleep so late!”

God, he reminded me of my Father. My eyes fluttered open to meet Boing’s heavy glare with her fluffy tail resting on my neck. She made her annoyed squeak sound, sneezed, stood up long enough to pad around and around in circles on my chest, then she plopped down and took up the pillow space.
“You’re really no help at all,” I grumbled.

She ignored me. I only had on a polka-dot bra, and black shorts, so I was extra chilly. Fuck, I did need to go check on Dallas—he REALLY knew how to drink. I rolled my neck on my shoulders, then pushed my messy hair back and out of my eyes. Tao was curled up in a little ball, with her arm under her cheek and her face smushed into the pillow. Cutie. Mumble and Mikey were chilling on the floor, with Mumble laying on Mikey’s side and Mikey snoozing with his face in his paws.

I ran to the bathroom, took a hot shower, then quickly got dressed. If anything, leaving Dallas by himself while he was hungover was terrible. He was usually grumpy in the morning, but especially with a headache and tons of alcohol in his system. Ha, just to see him suffer…. Anyway, I grabbed my cellphone and stepped into my shoes then left the room.

Oh boy. I walked into Dallas’ place and saw the loose tee shirt on the couch. Peeking into the hallway, I saw the cracked bedroom door, and I heard Dallas shuffling the covers around. I sat my bag on the chair then slowly approached the bed. He was laying on his front, with his messy hair and his bare back to me. His Maxi looked sexy, but I wasn’t focused on that. I softly shook his shoulder.
“Dallas,” my voice barely reached a whisper. He wasn’t budging. I shook his shoulder again. “Dallas.” Nada. I put my hand on the base of his neck and got close to his ear. “DALLAS!”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Dallas popped up and threw a pillow at me.

“Ow!”

“Oh, baby.” He groaned. Dallas rubbed my cheek and said, “I’m sorry, but don’t do that.”

“It’s… fine? Jesus, boy, get up!” I poked his shoulder but Dallas didn’t smile. “When did you get home?”

“Uh…” Dallas glared at the clock on his nightstand. His normally bright blue eyes were reflecting his mood: dull and crestfallen. “2am, I think. I dunno.”

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his thighs, and his head down. I ran my fingers through his messy locks, making Dallas sigh and rest his head on my stomach.
“Maybe a shower,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Shush. I know, I’m dirty and need a shower. And, dear God, I need food! And coffee! And sleep! Ughh,” Dallas flopped back onto the bed and covered his face with a pillow. He still had on his jeans, but they were low-rise so I had a good view.

“Rebel, maybe you shouldn’t stay out so long, since you enjoy sleeping the day away.”
I called him Rebel for two reasons: it was his middle name, and Dallas read this story about a guy named Rebel who always drank. Plus, he was my little Rebel.

“Not in the mood for jokes.” His voice was muffled but I could hear him clearly.

“Okay. Well, take a shower, I’ll make you food and stuff.”

“Thanks, Avatar.” Dallas chucked the pillow at the wall, and I flinched when it landed on the hard surface with so much force. He got up then squeezed my hip. “I can’t kiss you because I have every hint of alcohol on my breath.”

I chuckled and Dallas patted my ass. He shut the bathroom door then did his business while I went to prepare him breakfast. 20 minutes later, a fresh Dallas walked into the kitchen for breakfast, coffee, and medicine. He took a sip of the coffee and made a satisfied groan. He leaned his head back to me.
“Did I ever tell you that you make caffeine taste like Jesus?”

“I’ve been told before,” I giggled, handing him the plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

“And did I ever tell you that you have just made food my new drug?”

“Nah, but you should. And, did you brush your teeth?”

Dallas nodded. “Why—” I didn’t give him time to answer before devouring his lips. Keeping my lips on his, I took the coffee from his hands, and Dallas seized my hips. He trapped me against the counter, using his tongue to explore my mouth while I inched my fingers into his sweatpants. We finally pulled away, breathing hard and Dallas had a slight smile on.

“Because I wanted to do that,” I grinned, walking to the living room.

Dallas quickly joined me and he ate his food while I searched for something to watch. He took his plate back to the kitchen then laid on the cushions with me. I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him about Tao losing her powers, Dallas wouldn’t really care.
“We probably need to check on the Twins,” he muttered.

“What? Are they shit-faced too,” I groaned, tossing my head back and closing my eyes.

“If I was that bad, they have to be drowning in a tub of beer. Come on.”

Dallas yanked me off of the couch and we quickly went to Bear’s apartment. His place was pretty neat, he just had a few misplaced items here and there (not to mention everything was dark, and, all of the curtains were closed). In the bedroom, Bear was laying on his stomach with the covers tossed to the side and his tee shirt dangling at the foot of the mattress. Dallas gave me a look then mouthed, “I’ll do it.”

I nodded. Dallas took a deep breath then crossed over to the side of the bed. He hit Bear with a pillow, he didn’t budge. Dallas tried over and over, but nothing. He rolled his eyes then grabbed two more pillows. Dallas hit Bear with so much force that I even flinched. With lightning speed, Bear hopped out of bed, shoved Dallas onto the ground and yelled, “GET OUT!”

I picked up a pillow and hit him in the stomach. Bear barely (haha) moved, but he was taken aback by the way I hit him.
“You get off your ass and get in the shower,” I huffed, giving him a death stare. “And say sorry.”

Bear sneered at me but grinned at Dallas. “Sorry, fucker. I’ll go for the nuts next time.”

“Thank you.” Dallas grinned back as he picked himself up. Bear hurried off to the shower then did his own business. Dallas looked back at me with dark green eyes and said, “You can wake up Christopher. He actually scares me a bit.”

I shrugged and we left to go and get Bull. Once again, his place was really nice, and he was in his bedroom snoozing away. The duvet was a bright blue pattern, and the gazillion of pillows were a cute shade of blue (they really contrasted with his white hair). I hit him with a pillow, nothing happened. After the tenth time, Bull seemed as if he was dead. I gave Dallas a helpless look but he mouthed, “Super hard.” I heeved a great sigh then saw Bear appear in the doorway. He asked me for the pillow but I scrunched up my nose to make him back down.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Bull. I held the pillow out then, I rammed it down onto his back.
“WHAT THE FUCK!”

I think that did it. Bull sat up then saw it was me. “You little—”

I ran over to Dallas and Bear and stood behind them, looking over their shoulders at the hungover victim. Bull hopped out of the bed then gave me a death stare.

Bull twisted up his mouth. “Someone make me breakfast, I need to shower.”

“Anything else for our queen?” I said under my breath.

“I’d like your head on a stick. Your queen shall be clean.” Bull slammed the bathroom door and did his own little business.

By time Bear and Bull were done with breakfast and going about their day, Dallas and I were sitting in the bedroom and talking.
“…and it was really nasty,” I giggled. I just told him a story about the time my friend had cat pee in a cup and poured it in my backpack. (We were 15, don’t judge.)

He tossed his head back and started laughing. I pulled him down into a kiss, but I didn’t expect Dallas to stick his tongue into my mouth.
“Baby!” I giggled.

“I want to show you my love,” he laughed into my mouth.

I pushed him off. “Show your love in another way, but don’t choke me with your organ.”

“What the….” Dallas sighed and shook his head. “Choke you with my organ?”

“Tongue”—I stuck my tongue out—“organ.”

“Eris”—Dallas put his finger on my forehead—“weirdo.”

I blew him a kiss and Dallas kissed me for real. After the eternal kiss, he pulled back then said, “I have to go soon. And, I don’t want to start something we can’t finish.”

“Poop! Where do you have to go?” I replied`.

“Uh, Riva and Ripley, duh. And, I have to check on Hannah and Harley. Oh, and I have to go practice. And I have to—”

“That’s amazing, but I don’t care.”

Dallas pushed the side of my face as he got off of the bed. He reached into his closet, grabbed something then sighed. Dallas pulled out a deep blue shirt and grinned. “You might wanna close your eyes, I’m getting naked.”

“Oh, let me just open my eyes,” I laughed, turning to his body.

Dallas stripped his white shirt off then changed into the blue one. He tossed it over his shoulder, and into the hamper.
“Awh,” I pouted. “That wasn’t naked.”

“Close enough. Come on, I’m gonna walk ya back,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. Dallas wrapped his arm around my waist then nuzzled my hair.

“Ew,” I pushed him away but I was laughing. Dallas snapped his teeth at me. “Sorry, I don’t like people touching my hair.”

He looked down. Dallas hooked my neck in his elbow and (annoyingly) ruffled my hair like a relative would do to me. I had to reach down and grab his groin for him to stop.
“HEY!” Dallas laughed.

“Don’t touch.” I jumped on his back and started ruffling his hair. “Unless you want me to cut this off.”

“It’s beautiful, so don’t touch me!”

I dug my fingers into his thick hair then messed it up, but Dallas kept moving his head from my grip. We were walking down the hallway, so we probably looked very stupid. Dallas pulled me back to my feet and hooked his hand behind my neck to pull me close.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” he grinned.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I replied, running ahead to race him.

Dallas broke out running after me, and we made it to the dorms much faster than expected. I reached up then ran my fingers through his hair once more.
“Thank you for saving me from a terrible hangover,” Dallas chuckled.

“Anytime. And, thank you for touching my hair like a creep,” I smiled.

He kissed the top of my head and sent me on my way. Now, this circle: it’d be fairly easy to cast Tao—since she had one affinity to control. But me, that would be a bit different because I had never done all four. Hmm.

Heading into the kitchen for my brown pop, questions swarmed around in my head, but, I wasn’t that freaked out about the circle. Hell, I’d seen someone cast one, and call their powers, but any other time, it hadn’t really crossed my mind. I was still gonna do it. And, Tao had to call her own. She texted me earlier and said that she read some stuff in the library, so she somewhat knew what we were doing.

I walked upstairs to our room then saw Tao walking down from the other hall.
“Hey,” she called out.

“Hey.” I waited a few seconds for her to catch up. She looped her arm with mine and we continued walking. “So are you excited to cast this circle?”

“Actually, I am very excited. I told my mom, and, since she’s such a softy, she freaked out. But I told her that I was okay, and we were doing the circle tonight.”

“Oh, good. Well, it’s 6 right now… So, be ready at 9pm, and we’ll have enough time.”

Tao nodded and opened the door for us. I went straight to my nightstand then started searching around for my lavender batch that Nana gave me, and I needed the eucalyptus. They both smelled really good. And together, that’s like Jesus touched my nostrils. I grabbed my four candles, and Tao handed me hers.
“Thank you.” I put the candles together on my desk with a silver lighter.

Oh! I almost forgot about the candle Giovanni gave me! While I was getting the stuff together, Tao had taken the time to braid the lavender and eucalyptus together in one long strand.
“Heh, thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome. This smells amazing,” Tao replied.

“Imagine what it smells like burning.”

Tao smiled and handed me the braid. By time it was 9pm, we were gently putting the stuff in one of Tao’s bags so we could leave for Ria. 200.

When we found the circle to stop at, I looked at Tao and reached into the blue bag. I sat the candles and lavender against a tree then Tao drew a circle in the air with her cold hand.
“This is the circle,” she explained.

“Alright. So, these four trees”— I pointed to the four gigantic oaks—”will keep the barrier.”

“Kay.”

Tao and I decided for her to cast first, so we grabbed all the blue candles and put them North, East, South and West to create a perfect cross. I lit the lavender, then motioned for her to step into the middle of the circle. Clearing my throat, I stepped into the little opening and began:
“I call for Ice to join our circle, and give back the gelid powers to Tao…” I rotated around the entire circle, waving the burning strand through the air. Tao sat in the middle of the circle, with her eyes locked on all of my movements.

I lit the first candle and continued, “Ice for integrity, Tao doesn’t even have to try.”

Second candle. “To be creative, and not to lose our spark, Ice for Imagination.”

The third one seemed to glow brighter. “Ice for Importance.”

When I lit the fourth, I could feel it. The short jolt of energy that ran down my spine. But, it wasn’t a regular energy—it was chilly and made goosebumps appear on my skin. “Ice for Individuality because no one’s the same. I call Ice to this circle!”

I quickly left the circle and closed it back up with a rock. (For a beginner, I said that beautifully.) All of the candles’ lights whipped up, and grew in size until Tao looked like she had four lamps around her. There was an energy. A light blue, glowing energy that ran candle to candle and cast a light upon Tao’s body. She was pretty much glowing herself. But, Tao had her eyes closed, and it was obvious that she was taking deep breaths, to inhale the faint scent of lavender, and to be more connected to her powers. We read in the book that using a part of the affinity was important to the circle, so, I clutched my water bottle, and screwed open the top. There was just ice in here. I grabbed all of the little cubes, then threw them into the circle with Tao and I was shocked. Shocked by how the ice just attracted to her, like Tao had magnets in her hands. She clutched them in her palms, and I saw the glow from her back. Her Maxi. Tao’s black top gave me a good view of her upper back and the light blue icicles glew a dark blue, and I knew it was from the Ice. Damn, she looked so calm and relaxed.

The candles whipped out, and everything was still. No glowing Maxi. No energy connecting the candles. A relaxed Tao. The air was very chilly, and I had an idea why. She opened her eyes, then grinned at me.
“That was great. But it’s your turn.”

I weakly smiled and nodded.

Tao stood up, then fixed her long hair—the Ice and wind had made it a bit messy. She picked up the blue candles, and I placed the Elements in their spaces. Air was West, Fire was South, Water was East, and Earth was North. I had the purple candle in my hand as I stepped into the middle of the circle. Spirit was the center. Tao cleared her throat then smiled at me.
“Sit down, and relax,” she said.

I plopped down Indian-style then put the Spirit candle in between my legs. Here we go…. Tao relit the braid, then waved around the air.
“I call the Five Elements to join our circle, and bestow the importance of our powers upon Eris,” she gently said as she circled the space.

Tao finished purifying then walked to the Air candle.
“I call Air to this circle. We breathe it in our first breaths, so it is only right that it be the first Element called. Come to her, Air!”

Breezy.

Second candle was Fire.
“Fire warms us with its passionate flame. I call Fire to this circle!”

Hot.

She sauntered around to Water then grinned.
“Water is a perfect balance to flame, just as Eris is a perfect balance to soccer. I call Water to this circle!”

Cool.

Earth would be quadruple thee best.
“Earth supports us and nurtures us. As the fourth Element, I call Earth to this circle!”

Grass.

Quickly moving, Tao crossed over to me and nodded.
“It’s within all of us, important and soothing. I call Spirit to this circle.”

Relaxation.

I felt a jolt of energy run down my body, and I shut my eyes. The water…. air…. fire…. spirit…. earth.

My ears were filled with the crashing of waves against the beach shore.
It felt as if I was laying in the grass, with flowers and tall trees around me.
The warmth of a fireplace on a cold Christmas night made me happy and bubbly inside.
Wind was whipping through my hair, like the strongest tornado ever was approaching.
Mmm…. I was relaxed, and it felt like nothing mattered except for being calm, and alone.

Waves of power and relaxation rushed through my body, making me feel so…. Like everything was in place. I could feel the heat, the warmth of a blazing fire. I could feel the cool breeze softly blowing in the spring. I could feel water running down my body in the shower. And I could definitely feel cool, calm and collected emotions filling my brain. Inhale, exhale. In and out. Take and give. There was a fluttery feeling in my lower stomach. My Maxi was glowing. Gently placing my hand on my navel, I could feel how warm, and how powerful my Maxi was. Damn.

Before I could move again, my eyes shot open and I saw the energy. Whoa…. Red, blue, white, purple, and a green energy twirled together between the candles. It kinda startled me by how close the energy was to touching my body, there was no telling what could happen. Tao had tossed five sheer scarves into the circle: one to represent each Element. But, even touching the scarves, it made me radiant to feel the power charging through my body…. like my old self was back…. and it felt as if I had never lost the power. Though I’d been in the circle for a minor time, it was like an eternal event, that nothing compared to.

The energy slowly dispersed… leaving me alone in the circle. The candles whipped out, and we were left with soft scents of nature, and the melted wax. Tao glared at me.
“That felt like heaven,” I breathed.

“See? I know a thing or two about casting circles,” she giggled as she cleared up our supplies.

I stood up, grabbed my candles and broke the annulus we created with large rocks. The circle was cleared and gone, just the scent of lavender and eucalyptus remained in the silent air. Tao snatched her bag up then we headed back to the dorms. I felt relaxed. Calm. And I hadn’t felt this way in a looooooong time; my powers had been gone.
“Thanks,” Tao abruptly said. “That was completely amazing.”

“You’re very welcome. Yeah, I didn’t know what Spirit would feel like until then,” I responded.

“Hmph, I felt a bit of Water while I was in the circle…. Is that normal?” She gave me a confused look.

“Well, it is Ice and ice is just frozen, expanded water.” I paused. “It’s not your strength, but Water still exists within it.”

Tao nodded. It was 10:30pm, and I had to make a stop at the library, so I alerted Tao to proceed back to the dorms. When I entered the library, Zara waved me over to the front desk.
“Did you finish the book?” she smiled as bright as the sun.

“Zara, that book is well over one-thousand pages, I can’t finish four in one night,” I lightly chuckled. Zara was known for finishing books in less than two days.

“Well, you can always try. Haha, what are you looking for?”

“Uhm—”

I was cut off by a hand wrapping around my midriff. It was Dallas, and he winked down at me to show he meant no harm.
“Hi,” he sweetly smiled.

I shook it off then turned back to Zara. “Spirit, please. Tao and I cast our circles.”

Zara’s eyes went wide. “Really?! That’s great!”

Dallas hooked his finger in the waistband of my jeans and kept me against his body while Zara searched for the book. She handed me a book thicker than I could fully grasp.
“Keep this, too. Was all well?” Zara curiously asked.

“Great”— I shoved the book at Dallas. “I called Spirit, too, so it was way different! Tao said she felt Water when hers was called.”

“Ah, that’s good! Have you any idea when you’ll cast another?”

“No, but, I really wanna shoot for next month. But, I’m not so sure on a date for next month.”

Zara gave a single nod. She looked past me then said, “Dallas, have you cast your circle yet?”

“No, what am I gonna cast for?” Dallas raised an eyebrow.

“Mister, you could cast for anything. It may not be as important to your strength, but it’d be a good idea. Yellow candles would suit you.”

Dallas curled his lip up. “I don’t like yellow.”

“Why not purple?” Zara gave a smirk but Dallas rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Dallas. Purple would be nice.”

“Purple’s for girls,” he grumbled. “And, I’m not that feminine.”

“To me you are,” I smiled.

Zara waved us off while she laughed. “Get out of here. Eris, keep that if you need.”

We walked away and Dallas followed me out of the library. While walking, he switched hands and palmed my backside with his strong grip.
“Hey!”

Dallas gave me an innocent look. “Ass is class, hun.”

I rolled my eyes when he tried to kiss my cheek. Dallas hooked the side of my neck and planted a big kiss on my temple. I made an unattractive groan.
“You love me,” he whispered against my skin.

“Who says? I could be playing,” I grumbled, playfully pushing him off.

“Oh, don’t fib to yourself. So, how did the circle go?”

“AMAZING! I almost freaked out when it almost touched me!”

Dallas frowned. “What is the ‘it’?”

“Energy,” I smartly answered.

“Ah, that. How’d it go for Tao?”

“Great, she really liked it. And, to purify, we used the lavender Nana gave me for Christmas, and found some eucalyptus.”

“Huh, cool. Do me a favor: cast me a circle with red candles and tell me how it goes.” Dallas flashed his half smile.

“No, baby.” I pushed his arm. “You have to do it for yourself, tell me how it goes. I’ll even help you.” I smiled up into his regular blue eyes.

“But that’s too much wooooork.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and we continued walking. Dallas stopped in front of the glass doors of the dorms, then looked down at me. He handed the book over.
“Damn,” I huffed as it dropped into my arms.

“Do you want me to carry it up? You’re kinda weak, Avatar.” Avatar was his nickname for me because I controlled the Elements, but Air was my favorite. Dallas stuck his hands out for the book and I just kicked his leg. “Ow, what the sh—”

“Hah. What’s that you said to me that one day… Don’t be a smartass, it triggers others to be an even smarter ass. Now I’m gonna say something: Don’t be a smartass, it triggers people to kick you!”

Dallas rolled his eyes before claiming my mouth. He cupped my neck as he bent down… pulling me closer to his delicious lips. We were standing by one of the picnic tables, so I put the book down and reacted with my arms around his shoulders.
“God, I want sex,” Dallas moaned.

“Not appropriate,” I giggled, gently nibbling his lower lip.

Dallas stuck his tongue into my mouth and I let out a quiet moan. He cupped my ass, then effortly lifted me off of the ground. I could tell he had been drinking cold water because his tongue felt like ice in my mouth, but it was the type of feeling that made my tummy flutter, and my heart become more of his. I wrapped my legs around his waist and Dallas slid his hands under my shirt, cupping my breasts and working his hand under my bra. He managed to squeeze my nipples, which made me wetter and my moaning get louder.
“Come back with me,” Dallas said on my lips. He teased his tongue on the hoops in my ear, and I groaned his name in pleasure.

“I’m sorry. But, I gotta go,” I smiled.

Dallas kissed my ear and whispered, “Fine, I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye,” I smiled. He let me go and I walked up to my dorm.

Our hallway was pretty quiet, and Tao was laying down in her bed with a Sprite in her left hand. She looked up then nodded.
“Hey,” I wiggled my fingers.

“Hey. What’d you get at the library?” she asked. I handed her the Spirit book. “Oh, makes sense.”

“Yeah. What really makes sense is some sleep.”

I quickly showered, then came back out to lay down. Boing jumped onto my pillow and laid on my face. Her white fur got into my teal hair, and she decided to rest her tail on my neck.
“Can you move?” My voice was muffled by her body.

Eiee-ei-eeeie.

“Is that a no?”

Ei-ei-eeeeeeeeie!

Okay, that’s a no. By time Boing got back to bed, I was gasping for air and trying not to choke on her butt. I moved her to the side a bit then took the desired breaths. From across the room, Tao had her head propped up on her wrist while she watched me suffer.
“Damn,” I breathed.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re dying,” she giggled.

“Maybe I am.”

Tao laid down and Boing scooched her tush onto my shoulder. It took me a while to get over the fact that Boing had her ass all on me, but I eventually blacked out and fell into the world of my dreams.
====
Another great sleep, but terrible awakening. I was in the climax of my dream when my phone invaded. I was swimming in the middle of the ocean, with sharks circling around me, and I was following after a mermaid who looked exactly like my mother. The faint, muffled, distorted sound of the annoying tri-tone from my cellphone made me start to choke on water, and that’s when I woke up. I grabbed the device and saw who it was.
“Hey, Dad,” I sighed.

“Hello, are you still sleeping? You’re too young to sleep so late,” he replied. (Sounded a lot like my last dream.)

“Eh, yeah, what desires my attention?”

Before Dad could answer, I realized that Tao was on the phone with her mom. Lying down in the same position as me, and answering the same damn questions.
“Tao should be talking with Sumiko, but we need you two down at Ria. 42, we have something,” he explained.

“Okay.” We said our goodbyes then hung up.

I made my way blurrily to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water, trying to shock some awake into me. Tao walked in, then did the exact same thing. We brushed our teeth together, brushed our hair in the mirror and freshened up to leave.

Tao pulled on some low-rise jeans, with a crocheted top and her boots. I put on my shorts, a Nike tee shirt and wrapped my hair in a high ponytail. We quickly left the dorms and headed to our parents at the high school. Entering the front foyer, I could see Dad descending the right staircase from the upper-Professor floor.
“Hi, girls.” He bent down and kissed us both. “Upstairs.”

“Are we gonna be like, temporary Professors?” Tao muttered.

“Or guinea pigs,” I added.

“That second one,” Dad smiled. He opened the big glass door and we ducked under his arm into the hallway. Dad led us down the never-ending hallway, all the way to an open door where Chryseis, Sumiko and Professor Nolan were talking.
“Hello,” Tao and I half-stated, half-asked.

“Merry meet.” Chryseis bowed to us. “If you’re wondering why I’m here: it’s because I was the one to ask Nolan.”

“Oh, Chryseis, taking all the credit,” Sumiko laughed and winked at her.

“Hello, girls.” Professor Nolan crossed to us and shook our hands. He had dull yellow hair, with the brightest yellow eyes like a dragon. With an affinity for Reptiles, he had a Maxi on his neck that reminded me of scales, and I loved looking at it. “I know about your powers, and I think I can help,” he said.

Tao raised an eyebrow but I spoke first: “The thought ritual?”

“That’s it. It’s like a polygraph test, but, not all answers have to be verbal. I’ll be able to see your thoughts and words, it’s pretty fun to watch and fun to experience.” Nolan gave us a light smile. For a guy almost 6”10, he was like a cuddly giant. (Rian men were fucking tall, I had no idea why it was necessary.)

“Oh. Okay,” Tao and I dumbly said.

Nolan looked at our parents and Chryseis. “Er vew jiu zau quero?” They nodded and Nolan turned back to us. “Follow me.”

I directed Tao to the door and we followed Nolan out of the Professor hall. Very tall was all I could say to describe him. Anyway, he took us downstairs and through the halls toward the extra courtyard back there. Nolan pushed open the steel doors, and we were welcomed to an open concrete Yard—much bigger than our regular ones. I knew this place was used for rituals and whatnot.

“Sit on two sides,” Nolan said.

Tao went right; I went left (dominant hand). Nolan uncloaked a small table and I could see the stuff on the top: a candle, a knife and… I had no idea what that mason jar was for.

“Okay, girls. I wanna explain a few things before y’all freak. First, the candle is so I can recite the ritual, second, the knife is for blood, third, the jar is literally for catching important thoughts—” hold up, did he say catch our thoughts?! Nolan turned to me.

“Yes, I did, Eris.” (I knew the Professors could technically read minds—one of the reasons I was such a bad liar to Dad.) “Now, I’m gonna need a strand of hair from you two. Or, are your precious locks too important?” he grinned.

Tao plucked a small hair from her hair, I did the same. Nolan brought them to the table and smiled. “Now comes the blood. Arms or hands.”

I stuck my hand out and he pricked my finger; it stung, but the blade felt kinda good. Nolan dabbed the scarlet line with his own finger, then smeared it on his wrist. And the exact same with Tao. He stood behind the table once more, then began:
“Ner awq loh b’pina, sir fsut ca xixi munn,” Nalan pricked his own finger with the blade. “Dfe de dugn d’sance. Ca huj ecza Perlo!” Wow. I shivered and that was the last thing I remembered.

In what felt like two minutes later, I sat back up and looked directly at Tao. Before I could say anything, Nolan spoke, “Good to have you back, don’t say a word. Just think.”

I didn’t say anything. Tao looked at me and my mouth dropped…. her thoughts were floating around her in purple, blue and white.

Eris? Do you feel weird? Nolan, why does my head hurt? Damn, my head feels like shit. I need to talk.

She was looking back at me with the same expression. So I had thoughts, too?! Damn! Nolan cleared his throat and sat down between us.
“Girls, I want you to say one word a piece. See what happens,” he sighed.

“Hi,” Tao quickly replied. The word came out in a shimmery, sapphire blue fog.

“Eris.” The same fog appeared in front of me! Haha, this was fun!

“Okay, say four bad words. Cursing or a negative word,” Nolan said.

“Bad. Fuck. Lonely. Upset.” My words came out in a dull, dark silver fog.

“Good. Tao, say four things that are either happy or uplifting.” Nolan turned his eyes to her.

“Flowers. Ice. Dogs. Rainbows,” Tao’s words came out in a cute, fairy purple color. She smiled.

Nolan stood up then went back behind the table. “Since your powers are gone, we’re gonna use this to assist on getting them back. So, say or think anything you want, but, it has to be related to your power or any theories y’all have about them being missing. Get it, got it, good?”

“Get it, got it, good,” we repeated, admiring the blue fog. Nolan quickly sat the jar between our bodies then stepped back. I started thinking about how my powers got taken away, or how Tao’s did.

Two hours later, I was sitting in my bed and listening to music when there was a knock on the door.
“What?” I called out.

There were five rhythmic knocks—that was Giovanni. I quickly got up then swung the door open.
“Hey,” she signed.

I was shocked to see Dallas behind her.
“He wants to hang.” Giovanni exaggerated the signs then gave a sexual gesture.

“Oh so inappropriate,” I laughed.

She looked up at Dallas and he bowed to her.
“Thanks,” he said.

“Anytime.” (Giovanni could talk, but she liked to sign more.)

Dallas let her pass by then stepped into my dorm; he let out a wolf whistle. I hit his back.
“Grow up,” I grumbled.

“Damn, girl.” He pointed at the soccer posters above my bed, and the Fire/Water/Earth/Air ones by my closet. Dallas was gazing at the Hope Solo poster when Boing nuzzled his leg, making him jump back with a startled expression.

“Awh, you’re such a girl.” I bent down and picked up Boing. “It’s called a chinchilla: slightly bigger than a ground squirrel, and, her name is Boing. Hold her.” Dallas gently took Boing and she started exploring his neck area.

I had to change, so I yanked off my top and ran to the closet. Over the rows and rows of clothes, I just picked a basic white tee shirt then tossed my hair behind my shoulders. Dallas was sitting on my bed, laughing and playing with Boing while she scurried over the bedspread.
“Okay, we can go,” I announced.

Dallas looked at me. “Can we stay here?”

“Baby, you know you’re gonna be in a dorm… With 17 and 18 year old girls… Who like dicks… And you’re old…”

“I am not old, does it look like I have wrinkles? And, okay,” he chuckled. “But, can we bring this along?” Dallas waved at Boing like she was some grand prize.

I nodded and he sprang up with Boing in his left hand. Dallas waved to Mikey and Mumble then shut the door behind us. As we walked downstairs, I told him about Nolan performing the ritual on Tao and I.
“Hey, I want something to drink,” I said.

Dallas redirected me to the kitchen and I went to the fourth fridge. I could tell some of the girls were watching us talk; I felt their intense glares.
“Are you ready?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah, sure.” I took one last gulp of my brown pop then kicked the can into the recycling bin.

Dallas led me out of the glass doors and the cool breeze hit me. Very refreshing cool breeze. Since our pets could find us easily If they ever ran off, Dallas sat Boing onto the ground and she walked the other way as Dallas headed toward Ria. 200.
“So,” I asked, “what are we gonna be doing?”

“A walk,” Dallas replied.

“A walk? Since when do we go walking together? Is that like, some date?”

“No. It’s called I’m tired of not seeing the sun, so a walk.” He huffed out of his nose at me.

“Oh. Okay, walks are fun.” I smiled and tried to kiss his temple but Dallas pulled back.

He walked ahead then started running through the trees. I weaved around, and I saw him maneuver through the trees on my left.
“Dallas, it’s not funny,” I laughed.

“Then why are you laughing?” His sexy voice came from behind.

I stood still as he approached. “Because I can laugh at myself.”

Dallas snaked his arms around my midriff and pulled me back to him. He bent my head back, then kissed me good and hard.
“Hola,” I smiled up.

“Hey, Avatar. Come on,” he said as he let go of me. Dallas slipped his finger into the waistband of my shorts and kept me close while we walked further into the trees. Ten minutes into the walk, I slipped my hand under the hem of his tee shirt, and caressed his warm skin while Dallas attempted to push me off.
“Stop,” he grumbled.

“Why?” I purred, moving lower to his groin.

Dallas eventually pushed me off, so I walked with a big pout on, trying to make him give in.

He gave me a gigantic kiss when I noticed we had made it to the stream. The stream had two sides, and we were on the other side from where Aya started coughing and dying. But, this side had a massive hill behind us, and I could easily jump into the water. I was skipping rocks when I felt his hands on my shirt.
“Ah, what’re you—” the shirt came over my head. Dallas shoved my back.

“Get in,” he said.

“Baby, I don’t want to—”

He picked me up and I kicked my feet into the air, making my sandals fall to the grass. “Dallas! Stoppp!” Dallas brought me into the water and I gasped at how cold it felt on my warmed skin.

He put me on my feet but I was waving my arms around like an idiot at how gelid the water was. Dallas had his shirt off, and I was trying not to stare as I warmed up to the water.
“Have you ever been in here before?” Dallas asked, lightly pushing water on my stomach.

“No, but I’m guessing you have,” I replied.

Dallas nodded. “Come here, I wanna show you something.”

He took a few steps away into the water, but I hesitated before following. Dallas led me further downstream, until the water was just at the curve of my covered breasts. He went over to the wall then turned around to me.
“How long can you hold your breath?”

“1 minute, 23 seconds,” I replied. (Last time my friends took me swimming, we had a contest… And I was on the swim team for six years.)

“Okay. I’m gonna grab your hand, and you have to come under with me,” he explained. I nodded and Dallas grabbed my hand under the water. He dove under and I swam after him into a small, opening under the big rock wall. He popped up, so did I.

“Where the hell are we?” I panted, slicking my hair behind my shoulders.

“No one except for me and the Twins know this is here,” Dallas gently said.

The water came up to my shoulders, but Dallas had a bit of an advantage. He leaned back against the wall then looked at me. The space was big enough for probably two more people to fit in, the rock ceiling was about 7 feet up, and the water rushed into the walls.
“How do you know about this?” I asked.

“I used to come here all the time, when I still lived with the bitches,” he mumbled, looking around the water.

“Ya mean, Dayton and Dakota?”

He nodded. “I don’t come a lot, but, I make sure no one else finds it.” He smiled at me. “I guess you’re another person to know.”

“I guess,” I smiled back.

He crossed over to me and pushed me back against the cold stone, brushing his lips over mine and pressing flat against my body. (Thank God I was tall because I would probably be struggling to keep my head above the rushing water.) Dallas peered down at my bra; his lip curled into a smile.
“I’ll save you for later,” he said.

“Later? Psh,” I pushed the side of his face.

Dallas kissed my chest then whispered, “You taste good.”

I couldn’t say anything. His finger was trailing down my stomach, stopping to trace my Maxi and play with my navel. Dallas put his hand on my nape then started to kiss my neck, using his tongue to tease my skin.
“Baby… Mmm,” I moaned, running my fingers through his hair.

From the water, I could really feel how hard Dallas was—and how his dick was pushing into my lower stomach. I reached down, then softly massaged him through the fabric of his shorts. Before I could even wiggle into his boxers, Dallas stopped me.
“W-wait,” he said. I looked into his eyes (which were dark brown at the moment), and saw the lust in his soft pupils. “Follow me. I know somewhere.”

Dallas let his erection settle then led us out of the cave, and back out into the stream. He swam over to the shore and lifted himself out of the water, then turned around and helped me out.
“There’s a place up here,” Dallas said. He looked at the hill that had tall trees and grass and plants growing, then grabbed my hand so we could run. In a matter of minutes, Dallas had me at the top of the hill and kissing on my neck.

He cupped my ass, and ran his hand between my legs. I’d never imagined having sex outside, but with Dallas, I knew that it would be fun. He gently pushed me onto the ground then laid on top of me. Dallas grinded his hard on into me, putting his hand on the side of my neck to hold me still as he sucked and nipped on my racing pulse.
“Ahhh, babe… Ohh,” I panted, locking my legs on his back.

Dallas pulled back a bit and, with the gentlest touch, he unhooked my bra and pushed it off my shoulders to let my bobbs spill out. He didn’t pay much attention to my breasts before moving down my stomach to give my Maxi open mouthed kisses. He used his tongue to trace a pattern around my navel, with my hands on either side of his head and my hips grinding on his mouth.

One thing I’d never seen on Dallas before last week was his tattoo. Not his Maxi, but when he was 18, he got a tattoo of a horseshoe behind his left ear. Dallas usually cloaked it so no one saw, but he must’ve forgotten that day. And hell, I liked a guy with ink.

I lifted my ass a bit, and Dallas eased my shorts down my legs then threw them to the side. My already soaking wet pussy was heated and leaking with my juices for him; Dallas teased by rubbing me through my panties.
“Mmm,” I quietly panted, biting my lip and tilting my head back.

He dug his fingers into me a bit, and I almost freaked from how good it felt. A good two minutes into doing that, Dallas eased my panties to the side and played with my clit, lightly tapping and rubbing me. He snatched my panties down in one grab, then rubbed his thumb over my damp folds. I was gonna say something, all until he was pushing his finger a few centimeters into my me and wiggled around.

My mouth was open, but there was no sound. Dallas started massaging my tit in one hand, while he teased me with the other. As he grazed and maneuvered around all my damp pussy and aching flesh I went a little crazy; I arched my back high and moaned his name aloud. His fingertips forced into my pussy, but Dallas would pull back out then rub my thighs. He worked my boob in circles, pinching and playing with my nipples every few seconds or so. Dallas waited… he paused… stopped moving. Then it happened.

His finger pushed all the way into me, and I gasped at the sudden feeling, and he squeezed my chest again. Dallas had his middle finger pumping into me, to make me feel just right and just turned on. But, his hand was massaging me like never before; with a strong grip and his finger toying with my nipple. Dallas added another finger, then that was all I needed to start moaning and screaming again.
“Aghhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhh!”

If someone heard us, it was highly unlikely that they’d find us, because the place was completely concealed by trees. Dallas let out a moan with me when my pussy contracted, and he added another finger. Damn. His hand was vigorously squeezing and touching my breast, and honestly, I needed to touch myself too. I moved my hand down to my clit, and I rubbed myself harder as his fingers rapidly pumped into me. To have Dallas fingering me…. massaging my breasts…. and making me feel so, empowered. Dallas always touched me how he wanted, but he knew what made me hot (I mean, he did take my virginity and he taught me what he liked). As his fingers curled inside of me, I was moaning and exploring my body just as he was.

I placed my hand atop his, and squeezed and caressed my breasts. And hell, this felt good! Especially how Dallas was touching me. While he touched me, Dallas kissed on my stomach and played with my Maxi; his tongue trailed up the ink and to the curve of my breasts. He teased by lightly kissing on my areola, then moving back down.
“Dallas,” I half-panted, half-laughed.

He didn’t answer or react. Dallas pulled his fingers from inside of me and I opened my mouth to protest, but Dallas started kissing my inner thighs. He got closer and closer to my awaiting sex, but Dallas was trying his hardest not to touch, shit, he was teasing too much! And it felt kinda good…. I put my hands in his almost-white hair and forced him closer to my pussy. Dallas reached under me then pinched my outer thigh to make me stop.
“Mmm, please,” I begged. Dallas continued his torturous kisses on my legs. All while this torture was going on, Dallas’ cock was probably aching him to be freed; he’d been hard for a while. With a quick swoop of my leg, I pinned Dallas onto his back and bent down to his waist. Pushing my hair to the side so he could have a better view, I undid his jeans (being careful not to hurt the vital parts of his anatomy) and released the prize I’d been waiting for.

I kept my eyes locked on his as I took a long, teasing lick at his shaft. Dallas tossed his head back then let out a groan; I was getting him riled up… His eyes drew back to mine and I teased the tip with a big kiss. Okay, I knew Dallas hated teasing, and I deliberately looked at him with a sexy gleam in my eyes, and kept him waiting for me to suck him dry. He balled a fist in my hair as I swirled my tongue down his length. I was getting tired of the teasing as much as he, so I wrapped my hand around his thick cock and took him into my mouth. Dallas caressed my hair, and I could feel his body detense.

I used my tongue to lick the underside while my lips devoured more and more of him, all while pumping my fist after my mouth. I started to bob my head, and Dallas moaned to imply his satisfaction.
“Stop,” he firmly said. I wasn’t expecting that, but I lifted my eyes to his and sucked more.

Dallas tightened his grip in my hair then pulled me away from his cock. Fuck. I climbed up his body, straddled his hips and looked into his flaming blue eyes. As I sank down onto his hard shaft, we both let out different curse words, and I planted my hands flat on his chest. My hips slowly rocked on him, but Dallas was thinking something different; he grabbed my hips and starting ramming into me.
“Ughhhh, Dallas! Fuck, I’m cumming!”

Wow, was I that easy with him? Well, Dallas did get me close when he fingered me, and that blowjob had me on edge.

As my orgasm hit, I didn’t want to sound like I was dying, so I clamped my hand down over my mouth to stifle my reaction as the world kaleidoscoped into brilliant color in every direction. Dallas grabbed my hands and I had to scream out. He must’ve been getting close because Dallas slammed into me harder. So hard that I had to grip the grass beneath us to keep from falling. I scoochied a bit higher, so Dallas started licking and playing with my boobs.

Dallas used his teeth to lightly nibble on me, and his tongue to trace my areola. My hair was falling over my arm, but Dallas’ tongue was killing me; rolling and teasing and flicking my nipple.
His hands firmly squeezed my midriff as he moaned out his orgasm. And I was reaching another. In less than three seconds, I was yelling his name all while announcing my climax, and his cum shot high inside of my womb.

My chest was flat against his; I could barely breathe as I rode wave after wave of passion and lust and relaxation running out of my body. He caught his breath and said, “That’s another thing off my bucket list: have an amazing orgasm outside.”

I hit his chest before saying, “Shush. Hurry, we need to go and get our other stuff.”

I craned my neck, then reached over Dallas’ waist and grabbed my panties. He was trying not to stare while I slid them on, but it was kinda obvious to see his green eyes cutting into my body.
“Dallas, are you staring?” I said over my shoulder.

“Just a little, but, it’s no big deal.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

I quickly stepped into my shorts and pulled on my bra then turned around to him. He finished pulling his jeans back on then jerked his head toward the trees. Dallas led the way back down the hill, keeping his fingers interlock with mine. We stopped at the end of the grassy area.
“Walk or swim?” Dallas asked.

“Swim.” If anything, I was not going to walk over taking a nice dip.

“Since you say so…” Dallas pushed me into the cold water (it felt especially cold since I was raw from the sex).

I clenched my teeth then let out a hiss. “Get in, I can’t take all the suffering,” I said.

Dallas took his sweet time getting back into the water, obviously attempting to make me suffer even more. After he was in, I quickly dove under then swam the other way with him behind me. In five short minutes, we were where we first came in, and I could see our loose clothing articles. Dallas tossed my shirt to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I yanked it down over my head. We stepped into our shoes and shook our wet bodies (I was more like a cat; Dallas was a dog).

“Come on.” He jerked his hand out to me and I proceeded by wrapping my arm under his. Dallas smelt good. Really good. And his hair was still wet from the water, and it made him look younger. No matter how sexy and mountainous Dallas was, he always reminded me of a little kid; he just had this little spark. Especially that dimple in his right cheek; it made his smile brighter and younger. As we walked, he started a conversation:
“What are you doing later?”

I thought for a second. “Nothing really, probably watch a movie.”

“Hm. Okay,” Dallas flatly said. (If someone asks a question like that, shouldn’t they offer to hang out?) I was thinking about my question when Dallas asked, “Do you want to come over?”

“I’d love to.” I grinned but he just rolled his eyes. “When did you ever become so generous?”

Dallas gave my butt a hard smack (he was really an ass guy). He broke from my embrace, then turned around to me and walked backwards.
“I’ve been generous all my life. I just don’t need any help,” Dallas smirked.

“Oh, please. You’re as generous as a rock,” I laughed, trying to throw him off—which I did.

“A rock? How don’t you know that rocks are really nice, they just don’t like you?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly. We don’t know if you’re actually nice, we just know that you’re a smartass.”

Dallas rolled his eyes and we continued walking.
====
Tao ran her cold fingers through my hair. “What the hell?!” I whispered.
“It was messed up,” she mouthed.

It was Monday, and we were sitting in Riate, listening to Brice talk about someone’s mom. The classrooms were all designed like the ones in college: a bunch of stairs, a gigantic-ass row of seats. And, we always sat in the last row back. Tao kicked her feet onto the desk and I gave her a sharp look; she pulled them down.

After Riate, the rest of the day zoomed by, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the library with all five of my books open on the table. In Spirit, I was reading about how it’s almost like a natural high when I cast a circle. Air was telling me about the power to “mist” myself—when I think about being invisible, and I pretty much become invisible. The thing that shocked me the most was what the back said:

Any and all of the Elements together will give one eternal powers…. Tusnced.

It said it was in another book! I trotted off to the front desk then smiled at Zara.
“Yes, darling?” she nonchalantly said. Her nose was in another book.

“Okay, uhm, I need a book. And, I think it is called Tusnced, for all of the powers,” I beamed. Another power would be so cool.

“Oh!” Zara tossed her book to the side and stood up. “Follow me, I’ll show you.” She waved a hand out and I followed her to the back room.

Bookshelves was all I saw. Dizam. I knew there were more books, but gosh! And Zara had read every single one—cover to cover! She walked me to a far bookshelf then sauntered down the narrow aisle. Zara stopped in front of frivehugic-thick books and seized them from the shelf.

“Tusnced, Reaxced, Quacvced, Fzaesced and Lopced. I highly suggest you finish these soon, they’ll be much help to you. I know you’re a bit troubled with non-existent powers, but, they’ll always come back. Here,” she smiled.

I thought I was holding a live human. “Thank you,” I weakly smiled. “Now, I’m gonna leave before I die of muscle strain.”

Zara chuckled as I quickly left the back room. Kicking the door closed behind me, I headed back to my work area, and I saw Dad down the bookshelf aisle. He was searching for something particular. I sat the books down then ran down to him.
“Hi.” I smiled.

Dad glanced at me. “Hello, Eris. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be finishing homework—”

“Finished. Now I’m studying.”

“Oh, ok. Well, you’re a bookworm, so, what are you studying? It has to be something interesting,” Dad smiled. His green eyes sparkled at me.

“My powers. Ya remember how Tao and I cast the circles? Well, I added Spirit, and, now I’m curious and reading the books Zara gave me. Oh, there’s another power that has to do with them, but that comes when I’m older.”

Dad nodded as he grabbed a book. “Hmph, that’s good.” He grinned at me. “Did you tell Nolan happy birthday?”

“32 and counting, though he looks 18,” I winked up at Dad.

“Eris, you must be attracted to older men.”

My eyes got wide, but Dad kept his gaze light-hearted, and I could see he was trying to hide a smile. “Dad! Not appropriate,” I scoffed, playfully punching his arm.

“You’re right, that wasn’t nice. Well, do you remember my 22-year rule?” he asked.

“OhmyGod, Dad. Please stop.” I cradled my face in my hands. I took a deep breath then answered, “No babies, or cutting my hair until I’m 22.”

Dad patted my shoulder. “Bingo. Now, I have to go and meet with a Prof. Bye, kiddo.” He kissed my cheek and left.

Damn, I really hated his rules. No, let me reword that: that rule got annoying. Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna have any baby-Daddy-drama for sure, I did not want that type of life. And, I liked my hair like this. Thinking about how I’d appear with short hair, I walked back to my table and got back to the books. Hell, these four new books would take twice as long to read; I was estimating a mere 2,000 pages—long-ass pages–full of Riate terms. But, it still had some english. Twenty or so minutes into reading Reaxced, my phone buzzed loudly on the glass table.
Dallas: Where r u?

I snatched up my phone and replied.

Me: Not with u.
Dallas: Answr me
Me: Library
Dallas: good. I’ll b there

(Sigh) And, here comes Dallas. I replied then sat my phone back onto the table, continuing on my page. A few minutes later, there was a hand covering my eyes and a sexy humming over my head.
“Dallas…” I irritably said.

“Hello,” he replied, bending down and kissing my lips.

Dallas released me then went to the chair diagonally from me. I gave a fake smile and continued reading.
“May I ask what you’re reading?” he asked.

“No,” I flatly replied.

“That’s cool.” Dallas swiped a book from the table and started reading. “Why—”

“Ya know,” I interrupted, “for a man who doesn’t go to school, you sure as hell like to come to the library… and annoy me.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Eris. You make me proud, but, I wanted to know why you’re reading these. These have nothing to do with your strength.”

“Katniss, I didn’t ask for your input.”

“No, I was an archer before Katniss made it cool. But, would that make you my Peeta?”

“Yeah, I’m the one who choked you,” I grumbled.

Dallas bit his lip and shut up. But, he started humming soon after… his leg was going a million miles… and he was talking a lot… and his energy was through the roof…
“Are you okay?” I asked.

His blue eyes shot up. “Yeah, I’m just bored,” Dallas sighed.

“Well, go home and play with the sisters.”

“Govea got back late last night, and, Hannah and Harley don’t like me.” He laughed at himself.

“Oh, sorry. Well—” I sat up straight and put the book back on the table—“you could help me with these books. And, I think you should get an idea to cast your own circle soon.”

“Hell no, Eris. What do I need to cast circle for?”

“Uhm, for a lot of shit. You could rid yourself of smartass, you could be more connected to Archery, or, you could even get Hannah and Harley to be your friends!”

Dallas crossed over to my seat and switched places with me. He sat me in his lap then wrapped his arm around my backside. “Okay,” Dallas sighed. “Read, I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you! And, I’ll go get a book for you,” I squealed, hopping out of his lap and running back to the front desk.

Zara looked up at me as I asked for the book. She handed me a thick book called Lyacve, then I hurried back to Dallas. He had his face in my book, with his forearms resting on his knees. Dallas glanced up. “Got it?”

“Yup, but take it before I die,” I said, passing the large tome to him.

Dallas read a few pages then his eyes got wide as he looked me dead in the eye. “Did you know that I could bless a bow? I did not know that!”

“See? Perks of having an amazing Eris as your girlfriend.” I put my hands beneath my chin and sweetly smiled.

Dallas stuck his tongue out then continued reading.

Two hours later, we were still in the library, reading and noting some enthralling stuff in our books. Hell, I didn’t know that Dallas could read so fast; he made me feel slow. He had two of his own Archery books on the table, and I had mine on my side. I checked my watch: 7:32, so I had a bit of time before curfew. The good thing was that the library wasn’t all that crowded, and I liked the quiet air—except for Zara ruffling around papers a bookshelf behind us. Wait, what?
“Zara?” I called out.

“I’m just checking,” she called back.

“No, we’re not making out,” Dallas added, smiling at me.

I bit my lip then curled up with my book. Honestly, I had no idea that Dallas liked reading; he barely talked while he was focused on the text. Directly at 8:00, we closed our books at the same time.
“Don’t copy me,” I smirked, setting the book on the table.

“I’ll try to more often. So, did you eat?” he asked.

“No. Are you asking to buy me food?” I grabbed my chest and made my mouth a perfect o. “Nooooooo.”

Dallas mimicked me in his cute way. “Yes.”

I smiled then nodded. “I’d love to eat with you. Are you gonna take them books home?”

“Those, proper grammar.” Dallas made a face. “Yeah, come on.”

“Yeah isn’t a word. It’s yes.”

He curled his lip as we gathered our stuff. I had my cross-over bag with me, so I stuffed my books into it and Dallas carried his under his arm. (We would come off as a nerdy couple.) We said goodbye to Zara, but she was in the back room. Her head popped out.
“Bye, you two. Keep those if you need,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” Dallas replied, stepping through the door with me. We went to the cafe, grabbed some late dinner and talked for a bit before it was 9pm. Dallas walked me back to the dorms, then stopped to sit me down.
“I have to go somewhere soon,” he gently said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Louisiana. My cousin wants to see me, and, hunting. So, I just wanted to tell you before Wednesday—when I leave.”

I rolled my lips in and out. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you when you get back, ” I looked into his brown eyes.

“Yeah—Wait!” Dallas’ outburst scared me a bit. “Go upstairs, change, grab whatever, you’re staying at my place.”

“O-okay, but you didn’t have to scream.” I flicked his head and Dallas smiled. “Give me 10 minutes, and I swear I’ll be back.”

Dallas stood up. “Even better, I’ll head down for you. Hurry up.” He walked the other way and I darted inside.

Five minutes was all I was giving myself to change, grab clothes for tomorrow morning, and put my stuff away. Tao was in her bed, listening to Kenny and on her cellphone. She went bug-eyed when I started removing my clothes and running around.
“What are you doing?”

“Dallas,” I yelled from the closet.

Tao snickered. “Okay. And, don’t be late in the morning or anything. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”

“Got it. Do you have my Domo Kun hoodie?” (We were geeks.)

Tao tossed it from under her bed. I had on a pair of Nike track shorts, with a black tanktop and my hoodie zipped over it, and I had managed to tie my hair into a messy knot. Hell, it was nighttime, it was time to get lazy and not care. Anyway, I grabbed my bag and waved to Tao.
“Have fun.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

I quickly shut the door then sprinted down the hallway. Sneaking out was fairly easy, few to none of the Professors walked around campus at night, and the dorms were close enough to stay hidden in the shadows. But, the only thing stopping me were the Sons of Erebus. I guess Brice and Lena had called them in for something; which meant I couldn’t pass by the mansion (though the mansion was 6 miles out from any other building. But the Sons knew how to cover ground). Lucky me, I had a shortcut through Ria. 200—there was a tree that was struck by lightning a few years back, and the split bark leaned closer toward the apartments. So I ran through the tall oaks until I saw it, then threw my bag over.

Hopping through the tree was easy—not cutting my leg wasn’t.
“Shit!”

Ugh, it really sucked being such a klutz. Anywho, I snatched up my bag then ran to the apartment building. (Aya had told me about the tree.) Knocking on Dallas’ door, I heard something. From next door…. I was about to step over to Bear’s door but Dallas yanked me into the foyer.
“Agh!” I unattractively exclaimed.

“Shush!” Dallas hissed.

I shut up and waited… He roughly pulled me into the bedroom then told me to sit still. I placed my bag on the hook. Dallas reached behind the bed and pushed it to the side a bit.
“Come here. Silently,” he whispered.

I went there. Silently.

He was pressed against my back as we listened through the wall.
“Maybe it was—”

“Shut up! You’re an immature idiot, and you treat everything like a game! You and your brother have no respect for yourselves nor others, and it is very stressing to have one eye on two 21 year-old kids, and the other on others!”

That. Was. Harsh. The first voice had been Bear, and the second to interrupt him was Lena. At least I knew she wasn’t meeting with the Sons.

“Okay,” this was Bull. “Lena, can we please talk to our—”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t care for Chryseis, nor you two. Since when is it rational to eliminate two dragons? Or six gargoyles? It is quite a shame that I can’t come back to campus with a good report; there will always be a set of Twins to piss me off. I hope that we’ll not have this problem again, because there will be extreme consequences.” She slammed a door and departed. (Is this her way of a grand homecoming?)

Two seconds later, Dallas’ front door opened and in came a storm. Bull and Bear weren’t fazed by it, but they weren’t quiet about it, either.
“Bullshit,” Bear grumbled.

“For once in my life, I want to rip someone’s throat out and stomp on them to death,” Bull added.

Dallas stood up. “What does she think you did?”

“2 dragons—”

“—6 gargoyles—”

“—and, stole a sword from Professor Hyllus.”

I barely listened after that. Two dragons, six gargoyles, and even stole something? Hey, Bear might be evil, but he and his brother would never think to do something like that. This was utter and complete bullshit. So much bullshit that I couldn’t even imagine how Chryseis would take it—she’d probably yell or stab them. (Kidding!) Did Brice know about this? Is that why he asked me for Bear late last week? And, when dragons & gargoyles are killed, or when something is stolen, the Professors and Warriors stop at nothing to find out who did it. Damn. Just to think, Lena hasn’t blamed it on anyone except Dallas and the Twins—could there be a reason? Come to think of it, the last time something like this happened, it was a stupid Sio (Junior) who did it. But, she and Brice found out that the girl didn’t know she’d killed the dragon, so they forgave her. It sure as hell wasn’t the same for Dallas or the Twins—Lena just jumped to some silly conclusion to make it them. I mean, I get that they’re older, but, really? And, Lena has been trying to rip my throat out for dating Dallas, and it’s not like I did anything! Right? And, Brice was never the one to alert them! Cruel. That bitch was just cruel. I knew that it wasn’t a coincidence anymore, but Lena was trying to do this. Oh, and why not have it happen when Eris’s best friend loses her powers and they have to cast a circle so their brains don’t explode? WELL, HELL!

“Eris.” I looked up to Bull’s sweet smile. “Two things: do you want me to fix your legs, and, you do know we can hear everything you just thought?”

I nodded and made a face before coming to the edge of the bed. Bull waved his hand over my leg, and once again, I had the warm feeling of doves fluttering around in my stomach. He pulled back and I was fixed up.
“Thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, Domo,” Bull solemnly said.

“Don’t call me Domo, Domo.”

“Don’t you mean homo??” he replied.

“Derogatory term,” I chuckled, following them out of the bedroom.

“Look,” Bear sighed, “Bitch Monster Lena is trying to chew our asses out, especially me. So, Eris, can you use that little, Air power you have to kill her?”

We all sat on the couch and the chairs.

“No,” I answered. “One, I don’t have my powers back. Two, that would only be possible if I was in a circle, then I could help. Three, ask your mom what she thinks. Mothers always have the best perspective—mostly. But, ask her if she thinks you did it. If she says something like, ‘That’s not the point, my point is…,’ then don’t let her talk.”

“And, ask other Professors. They know more than us, so, Lena probably has some secret committee to hate on y’all,” Dallas added.

Bull nodded. “You’re right. Plus, the Sons of Alke, and the Sons of Erebus have been around lately–and they are so hot–so, maybe those dragons and gargoyles being killed is an even bigger deal.”

“I guess.” Bear stood up after his brother. “Eris, get to school on time, we have to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, brother,” I giggled, cuddling up on Dallas’ side.

“And you—” Bull directed his eyes to Dallas “—don’t sleep in. We have to do a bit more tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Dallas said, wrapping his arm around me.

The Twins exited the door then softly pulled it closed. Dallas let out a deep breath.
“Do you think she has a legitimate reason?” I blurted.

“Of course not. Nor does she have the right to say something like that,” he replied. I cupped the side of his neck and Dallas put his hand on my lower back. We sat for a while, then he carried me to the bedroom and tossed me into the bed. Before I could even pull the covers back, Harley and Hannah swopped into the room, with their impressive wings keeping them aloft.
“You two, out,” Dallas barked at them.

Hannah landed on the dresser and cawed at him, Harley got in the chair.

“Xan hsuvo liud nuuw,” Dallas firmly repeated.

They finally got the message then flew out the window and to wherever. Dallas shut the window and looked over at me. I yanked off my Domo hoodie then tossed it to the chair.
“Cute,” he said as he crawled under the covers with me.

“Uhm, shouldn’t you get into your pajamas?” I asked.

“It’s naked or everything, there’s no in between.”

“We can do naked.”

Dallas lightly hit me with a pillow.”Get to sleep before I suffocate you with this,” he joked.

I grabbed another pillow and hit him even harder, but Dallas put his hand on my arm. He pulled me into his tight embrace, hugging me down against the pillow.
“Dallas! I’m gonna die,” I giggled.

“Don’t die, go to bed,” Dallas responded. He pushed into me from behind and laid on his back. I stayed on my stomach, cradling the pillow to my chest.
“Goodnight, Eris.”

“I love you.”

I’m pretty sure that I went to bed before him, because I was out in two seconds.
====
Sahmi was talking about our powers and bodies as we got older. He asked a question,
“What are the three main body types?”

No one raised their hand. Wait… For real?! I raised my hand and Sahmi directed his gaze to me.
“Ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph,” I answered.

“Good. Wanna describe the differences?” Sahmi gave me a secret wink.

“Well, Ectomorphs are lanky, not a lot of body fat, and lean muscles. Mesomorph is medium, ya know, tall and athletic. And, Endomorph is kinda bulky, curvy or even just rounder.”

Most of Rian kids had been in Rianate all their lives, and even the smallest things were so easy to forget, since there were different ways to live here. But, hell, I had almost forgotten them, so, I couldn’t really talk.

Sahmi nodded. “So, you should be able to tell what type you are, all of our bodies are pretty much done growing. And…”

“How did you know that?” Tao whispered to me.

I turned to my left and met her icy eyes. “Magic.” She flipped me off and we continued listening to Sahmi.

After Riate and lunch, then came Art—and it seemed like Verc was in a good mood. But, we honestly never knew with her. She assigned us a project: an abstract painting, using only the colors yellow and blue. With a partner.

Tao spilled some blue paint into our little jar, while I mixed the yellow into hers. We were mixing and talking and preparing to paint when Verc announced something.
“This is a challenge for anyone who wants it: use wax on the canvas. See how that works.”

Wax? Oh! Once, I melted crayons on the lamp at home and the wax got everywhere, but it still came out pretty! I leaned over to Tao.
“Hey, crayons,” I whispered.

“Crayons? Hun, we’re not five,” she quietly chuckled.

“The wax. We can ask Verc for a candle or blow dryer.”

Tao stopped and thought… Her face was priceless. “Yes! Come on, let’s ask.”

We hurried over to Verc’s desk then smiled (we had to be suck-ups for the moment). She looked up with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, girls?”

“Okay, two things: do you have crayons and, a candle or blow dryer?” Tao asked.

“Yes. Is that gonna be your wax?”

“Mmhmm, blue and yellow crayons,” I added.

She stood up. Verc led us to one of the six closets lined on the back wall, and opened the door. Whoa. Who knew there were so many crayon colors?!

Tao chose three dark blues, and four bright yellows; I grabbed two light blues and a golden yellow. Verc shut the door then pointed to another one.
“There are candles, but no blow dryers,” she said.

“Thank you,” we smiled.

I told Tao to get situated at the canvas, and I was to grab the candles. Two people means two candles. Whoa again. In rainbow order, Verc had over 30 candles on the six shelves, and they ranged from short and stubby to talk and skinny. The skinny blue one caught my eye, so I reached in and grabbed it. There was also a skinny yellow one. (Way to follow through with the color.)

I walked back to Tao and nodded. Before Verc had announced the wax, we had smudged blue and yellow shades onto the canvas to rid of any white spots. And Tao had lined the peeled crayons on the top of the canvas, so when the wax melted, it dripped down over the paint.
“Okay.” I smiled then lit the candles. “You’re any color you want.”

“Thanks,” Tao said as she grabbed the blue candle. We barely even had to touch the flame to the crayons for them to start melting blue and yellow wax.

Art was really good (we weren’t done with our wax painting), and Math was just the same. After Math, Dallas texted me to come to his place so we could hang out once more before he left. Alright. I skipped Affinity Hour (like I had been doing for a month) then walked down to Ria. 24.

I walked in through Dallas’ door and heard how annoyed he was.
“Harley, I will be happy to deep fry you,” Dallas groaned.

Harley “yelled” back at him.

“I’m older! What are you gonna do about it, run off to Hannah?!”

Caaaaaaaghhw.

“It’s not gonna be funny when you’re on a plate… And all of your precious little feathers are plucked off from your body… And some weirdo in Kansas wants to eat you for dinner!”

I was standing in the doorway of the bow room, listening and watching them argue. Harley was trying to touch the bow Dallas was holding, but Dallas kept swatting his talon. He literally looked like a little kid trying to touch the water with his toe, but he didn’t know if it was warm or cold.
“Stop it, Harley!” Dallas exclaimed.

Caweeeeeagh.

“You eat vulture vomit!”

Cagghhhhhhh.

Harley flew up and practically screamed at Dallas. They reminded me of dysfunctional brothers: always arguing, hate each other, hurt each other, but they did everything together. Dallas put the bow back, Harley mimicked him by moving his gigantic wings out. Dallas turned around and waved at me, Harley turned his neck and lifted a wing at me.
“Vulture vomit?” I grimaced.

“Yeah, it is disgusting.” Dallas kissed my nose. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, kinda mad that you have to leave.”

“Sorry. But, a week without Harley is heaven.”

Harley made a grunting sound then flew out of the room. He really hated Dallas.
“So,” I said, “what are you doing?”

“Choosing one to take,” he answered.

“Hmm. Pick a color: red or black?”

Dallas thought for a second. “Red.”

I grabbed his bow with red bolts. Dallas made a “duh” sound as he took them.
“Thanks, that was easier than I thought,” he smiled.

“No need to thank me. Just worship me,” I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Dallas gave me a big kiss and squeezed my ass in his large hand. I broke away.
“Have you seen my hoodie? I think I left it,” I said.

“I dunno.” Dallas pulled away and walked out to the living room. “With Harley and Hannah, anything they find is automatically theirs. So, don’t count on finding it.”

“Eh, whatever. Can I—”

“Eris, you’ve asked enough questions. Shzhh.” Dallas waved his hands in my face.

“Well, gosh. Anywho, I was asking to ask you a question. So, may I ask another question so I can stop asking questions and we’ll be question-free?”

“What do you possibly want,” he flatly sighed.

I smiled. “Wait, so I can ask the question?”

“Eris!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But, I was just asking if you seriously want to cast a circle. Ya know, I’ve got this shit down. And, I think I’m casting one next month, or, whenever I have some free-time.”

“Well,” Dallas said, “that’s great, but, I don’t need one. Why can’t I just watch you?” He grinned, looking like a handsome little boy.

“No, Dallas. Do you know how awkward it is to have some idiot staring you down while you’re trying to concentrate?”

“Just block me out.”

I looked him dead in the eyes, and Dallas stared back harder. He hit my arm and I blinked.
“Damnit!”

“Haha,” Dallas smirked, poking my shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” I frowned.

He kissed my forehead then sat back on the couch. I wrapped my arms around his neck as Dallas cut on the tv; he rested a warm hand on my thigh. As I adjusted my body on the cushion, I reached behind my back and grabbed the pen that was secured on my belt loop. I had been drawing on my hand in Math, but I forgot to take the pen off. I hovered over my hand and finished the doodle I had started. I covered the entire back of my hand with a detailed drawing of a sacred heart; it was a design I’d been sketching since I was eleven. It had flames dancing up the back, a crown of thorns on top of it, a spray of roses along the bottom, and in the center I drew a scrolling banner with my name in the center. Dallas peaked over and seized my hand.
“Wow, that’s good. Nice,” he frowned in approval.

I bit my lip. “That’s not even half of what I started in class.” I rolled my sleeve up and Dallas chuckled.

“You should be a tattoo artist; you have a lot of creativity buried inside of you.”

“That’s actually my dream job.” I smiled and Dallas stroked my bare thigh. His hand went higher up, up until I gasped at his warm touch by my covered sex.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop here,” Dallas chuckled. He brought his hand back down and I sighed. That sigh made the rest of my body realize how tired I was, so I sprawled out on his chest and Dallas put his hand on my hip.

“Good afternoon,” I yawned.

“Good afternoon, Avatar,” he laughed.

My eyes shut on instinct, and I only paid attention to the beat of Dallas’ heart. Bum… bum… bum… bum… zzzzzzz.
====
END OF PART 5
I ended the story with Eris sleeping because I didn’t want to blow your brains out with boring shit. This part isn’t all that important, and I didn’t just want to bullshit it. Part 6 will definitely be up tomorrow night.

-L11

---

The clock was ticking at the same beat of my fingers tapping on the desktop. Tick, tock, Eris. Tip, Tap, Eris. You’re gonna ace this test—hopefully. And right now was one of those times that I knew I was gonna massacre. Easy stuff, we learned the majority of it that month, so, it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Okay,” Nanaya announced. “You all may begin.”

Eris Faye was the first thing I scribbled down. Tao tapped me on my hand and I looked over to see her icy blue eyes all confused. I wrote down the answer to number one; she hit herself on the forehead, mouthing, “Duh.” For a five-page test, it was fairly easy to finish in less than 90 minutes and have on Nanaya’s desk.

After History was over, Tao raced down with me to Body Science so we could ask Sahmi about our next quiz. When we got in, Sahmi was sitting on top of the desk, with a pencil floating in front of his face. His affinity was Gravity, and it was amazing to watch him.
“Sahmi?” Tao blurted.

“My ears are open and my eyes are directed on yours,” Sahmi replied, looking directly into Tao’s eyes and snatching the pencil out of the air.

“U-uh—”

“She wants to know about our upcoming quiz,” I snickered, finishing her beautiful sentence.

Sahmi made a face. “Sa quf pors whi acneme duso?” Translated to English, that meant: “And, what would you like to know about the quiz?”

“What type of questions there are,” Tao answered. “I don’t like multiple choice because it messes me up, and writing is a big no, my nails are mucho too importanto!”

He chuckled at her “accurate” Spanish. “Well, Tao, see me after class, we’ll figure something out.” Sahmi winked at her just before the bell rang.

We darted to our seats then pulled out the assignment Sahmi wanted us to do in our textbooks. Following Body Science, I went to Riate and Brice called me over to his desk… What did I do?!

“Hello,” I said, showing the sign of respect.

“Hello, Eris. Uhm, have you seen Caine Prath lately?” he asked.

“Yeah, just yesterday. Why?”

“Lena needs him. Thank you, Goddess, merry part.”

(I loved how they referred to us as Gods and Goddess.) I ran off to my seat, then Tao walked in with a late pass to Brice. She joined me in the back and put her feet up on the desk.

As class progressed, I had a thought of Aya and did I ever give her that necklace. It was late January, and Tao and I had moved on with crying ourselves to sleep about Aya; we knew better than being little brats about it. Two weeks ago, we spread her ashes in my backyard, so we always knew where she was and how we could be connected to her. That was one thing I was happy about, others, not so much.

My Elements still weren’t working, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as last month. Turns out, the Elements made my reflexes stronger (I have no idea why) and it made me super alert during class. So, that was good. And, Dallas had been so good to me, like always. After Riate, we had lunch (walking tacos) then headed off to Art, and I was super happy because Verc was in a good mood. She had us create an abstract painting of what our affinity was in our own eyes; not what it was meant to be or what other people thought.

So, I splattered red and blue and white and green paint on the canvas, then used my pinky finger to swirl it around. The colors actually looked great, the white made everything a tad lighter. Just to be more creative, I even threw in some teal to describe myself. Verc had been circulating the room, but when she saw me, she stopped.
“Amazing work, Eris,” Verc grinned.

“You like it? I’m rethinking the red now that I added the teal… ” I softly replied, frowning at the bright red paint.

“No! That’s beautiful, and if anything were to change, I’d say to throw you in the paint.”

Verc patted my lower back then went on to do her business, leaving me to observe my work. The bell rang and Tao dragged me off to Math. Affinity Hour came quicker than I expected, so I decided to go and visit Govea.

I crept into the steel door and took in the aroma of the dragons. (They all smelt like vanilla mixed with cinnamon—very pleasing.) Down a few rows, I heard Govea’s deep laughter and a dragon cutely roaring back at him. I called out his name, then Govea peeked his head out from the last row of enclosures.
“Just the person.” He smiled. “Wanna meet the babies?”

“Babies?” I started walking closer and Govea went back to his place. My heart exploded when I saw the two baby dragons in the basket.

The first was a pretty pink, with an orange streak of scales going down her back. The other was a deep blue with a yellow streak of scales down her back; they were adorable.
“Meet Ripley and Riva: our new baby girls,” Govea smiled.

I gasped at Ripley’s cute little sneeze. (Ripley was blue; Riva was pink.) “I want to eat them,” I chuckled.

“Well, don’t. They need more than 17 hours to live, Eris.”

“I’ll save you guys for later.”

Ripley let out another sneeze and her scales poofed out; her sister used her small wing to gently pat her back.
“They’re a bit sick. Mama had a bad cold during birth,” Govea said, observing their tiny bodies.

“It’s an inherited trait, huh?” I smiled at Riva and she made an impressive attempt to do the same.

A good minute into talking with Govea, I heard another voice from behind me. “Well, what do ya know, Eris is in here with Govea.”

I turned around and saw Dallas approaching from a row behind. He gave me a soft kiss then looked at the babies.
“You’re cuter than I expected,” Dallas smiled, waving at them.

Riva sneezed and she shot up into the air—literally. She was flapping her little wings while she tried not to fall and break her face. Govea was a few feet away, so Dallas quickly grabbed her and she let out a baby sigh of relief.
“They are very sick,” Govea muttered, with his hand rubbing his chin in thought. “Say, Dallas, would you mind watching them while I’m gone? I have to make a quick stop in Ohio, but I don’t want them to be overwhelmed alone.”

“Uh, I guess. Harley can’t be around them, can he?” Dallas replied.

“I’m afraid not. Have he and Hannah stay at your Yard, they are far too rough to be around newborns.”

Dallas nodded and Govea thanked him again. Huh, Dallas with babies?! This. Will. Be. Hilarious. I picked up Ripley then waved to Govea. “I’ll make sure Dallas doesn’t kill them.”

“Me?! Please, I’m amazing with animals,” he scoffed.

“Says the one who kills them for a hobby,” Govea muttered under his breath. I laughed but Dallas made a boyish grunt as Govea shooed us off and we headed to the apartments.

As we walked, Riva kept trying to fly up, and Dallas had to hold her tight, but she sneezed every two seconds, so his grip was pretty pointless. He opened the door to his place, and we set the sisters free.

I plopped down on the couch, Dallas came over and laid across my lap.
“How was your day?” he asked as he cut the TV on.

“Fine.” I ran my fingers through his light hair. “How was yours?”

“You could say… terrible.”

“Why?”

Dallas’ violet eyes lifted to mine. “Because I say so. And, I got bit by Harley and Hannah. They just don’t like me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Would it make you feel better if I cooked for you?” I waggled my eyebrows down at him.

“Hmm, what will you make me?”

“I’m not telling you. Shut up and sit down.”

“Eris, that’s not very nice. You should apologize.” Dallas made his puppy-dog eyes.

“Dallas,” I mocked, “that’s not very nice. I think you should apologize.” I stuck my tongue out before running back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, I was still in the kitchen, listening to music and making this sandwich for him. Something was moving behind me… I whipped my head around and saw Dallas hop onto the counter then smile. I yanked my headphones out and laughed. “What the shit?! Go back in there.”

“Unless you want to be burned, turn around and make me a sandwich,” Dallas said, being his traditional smartass.

I stuck my hand in the drawer then pulled out something. “I know you didn’t just tell me to make you a sandwich,” I growled as I pointed the blade at him.

Dallas shrugged. “Okay, make me a grilled cheese sandwich.”

I dropped the knife back into the drawer then finished the sandwich. Cutting off the stove, I passed Dallas the plate and he took a gigantic bite.
His eyes got wide. “Awh, bitchin! There’s pepperoni!”

“Really?! I didn’t know.” I made a fake gasp but Dallas just nodded.

“Pepperoni.” He took another bite and rolled his eyes to the back of his head while he moaned.

“Is it that good?” I giggled and mimicked his face.

Dallas nodded. “It’s that good.”

“You’re welcome.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek then ran off to the living room to watch the game.

Dallas finished up in the kitchen, and took his medicine before coming to sit with me. He pulled my legs into his lap and grazed his fingertips over my covered skin—but it still felt like he was trying to tickle me. I wiggled from his grinp and he gave me a death stare.
“Quit moving,” Dallas huffed.

“No, you’re gonna molest me,” I giggled, tucking my knees to my chest.

“Molest you? I mean, I know that you’re into some freaky shit, but molest—”

I hurled a pillow at him and Dallas flopped back on the couch. He quickly threw the pillow back but I covered my head. Dallas yanked my leg again, then laid me on his lap and started tickling me.
“Dallas, stop! I will punch you in the throat!”

He dropped his hands and started laughing. I took advantage and pushed him back on the cushions, straddling his lean hips.
“Hey! That’s not fair,” Dallas chuckled.

“Life isn’t fair. Don’t tickle me unless you wanna wake up dead,” I growled while pinning his arms back.

“Wake up dead? How much sense does that make?”

“I dunno, do you wanna test that theory? Because I will—”

Dallas hit me with another pillow and I flipped back the other way. Damn, I never knew a pillow hurt that much! He had his turn on top then kissed my neck, but I pushed him onto his back then sat up straight. Dallas got up, then wrapped his arm around my upper back, pulling me closer to his warm body. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the smell of his yummy cologne; Dallas always smelt so fucking good. He must’ve noticed my sniffing because he pushed the side of my face.
“Hey!” I blew a strand of hair out of my face before sticking my tongue out at him.

“Don’t sniff people, you’re not a dog,” Dallas said.

I started to kiss on his neck, and Dallas sighed (I had my ways). He put his hands on my midriff, then slid his hand down to cup my ass while I grinded my hips down onto his.
“Hey,” Dallas laughed. “Don’t start something.”

I swung my legs the other way then straddled him backwards. Dallas put his face in the crook of my neck and started to lightly kiss me, with his tongue trailing up the side of my neck and to my ear. He was in love with my ears (not in the creepy way) because he loved to play with my earrings and piercings. On the left, I had an industrial piercing, a double hoop helix with tiny blue barbells, and two studs in the lobe. On the right, I had four tiny hoops in the lobe, another single helix, and a forward helix. He loved to tug and lick on them, and it made me crazy.
“Mmm,” I smiled. Dallas moved to my lobe and nibbled the pink ball I had in.

“You taste good,” he whispered. Damn, his warm breath made me moan.

“Well, I do like to taste good,” I giggled.

“Of course you love to taste good. Because I’m the only one who gets to ever taste you.”

I twisted my neck and glared at him. “Oh, really?”

“Yes really, Eris.” He gave me a small peck. I went in again and pushed Dallas back onto the soft cushions of the couch. He looked directly between my legs, obviously thinking about what was covered by my skin-tight leggings. I poked his stomach.

“Don’t look, I wore clothes for a reason,” I chuckled.

Dallas put his head back. “Meanie,” he pouted. Oh no, not the pout! Dallas made thee cutest pouty face, and thee cutest puppy eyes, and I always felt bad.

“No, Dallas! Please don’t, I’ll feel like shit!” I sighed. I put my face in my hands and Dallas started laughing.

“Alright, alright. Come on, I’ll let you leave this time since you have homework.”

I crawled out of his lap then sat up. Dallas walked me to the front door and leaned against the frame before bending down to kiss me. “I love you, don’t text me later,” he said.

I made a hurt face. “Damn. That was harsh.”

“What? I’m not gonna be up, I’m taking my ass to bed when you go.”

“Dallas, it’s only 6pm.”

“And? I slept terrible last night, so, I need to fix it by playing nocturnal.”

“Playing nocturnal? As in, sleep all day, party all night?” I laughed when he nodded.

“Yep, so, don’t text me.” Dallas wrapped me up in his thick arms. He put his hand on the base of my neck then whispered, “Next time, you won’t be leaving.”

“Oh really? And”—I pushed him away—”you won’t either, I may just tie you to the bed then molest you.”

Dallas down peered at me. “What is up with you and molesting?” he snickered.

I shrugged then hugged him around his neck and blew a kiss. “I love you.”

Behind his leg, Riva and Ripley looked at me like little kids—not really coming out, hiding behind Dallas. I waved to them then walked back to the dorms.

Right when I stepped the through the glass doors, my friends Giovanni and Ophelia stopped me.
“Hey, Eris,” Ophelia smiled. She had this bright pink, black and white hair, with dark eyes with vibrant rings of pink and white surrounding her pupils. Her affinity was Flexibility, and I liked to call her “Pretzel” because htere wasn’t a way she couldn’t turn her body.

She handed me a candle. “This is a gift from me and Gi, we wanted to say thanks for the advice.”

“Oh! Thanks! Everyone knows how I am about candles,” I giggled, observing the lavender candle. Last week, Giovanni was scared her powers were dying out because nothing was working, but I helped her locate her “inner Photography” and bring them back. But the unique thing was: Giovanni was Deaf, and Ophelia was her best friend.

Giovanni’s afifnity for Photography was astounding and she found art in everything she saw. Her dark blue eyes reflected her dark purple hair, and the ink of her Maxi swirled around her arms. She never used her disability as an excuse, and she was probably one of my closest friends!

“Thank you,” Giovanni signed, showing me the sign of respect at the end.

“You’re welcome, I gotta go. But I’m glad you got them back.” I smiled, bowed back then ran off to Tao.

Upstairs, I didn’t expect Tao to be sitting on the ground, with Mumble squawking and making a raucous. I giggled when he pecked her hand and made Tao squeal, “Ow!”

“Good job, Mumble. Keep it up,” I said.

“Ugh, hey. How was it with Dallas?”

I kicked my boots off, set the aromatic candle on the nightstand and leaned against the window.
“It was fine,” I sighed. “Hey, is Maz like, dead or something? He wasn’t in any classes, and he didn’t walk you to any Hours.” Tao rolled her eyes and clenched her fists on her knees.

“He’s being a complete asshole. His Dad took him through the portal, but I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday. And all he does is read my messages like they don’t exist,” she said. It was Thursday, so I knew Tao had to be going crazy.

I scoffed. “Well, at least you know he’s not dead. Alright, I have to change and finish my homework.” I peeled off my bottoms, tossed my shirt into the hamper then scampered along to the bathroom.

It took way longer to finish my homework, but after reading my book and playing with Mikey, I flopped down on the bed. Tao came over to me and sat on my legs, obviously prepared to ask me something.
“Yes?” I said from under my arms.

“You want a slushie? You look really tired, and, slushies work magic,” she smiled. I nodded, and Tao made me a cherry slushie.

I sipped the treat like a toddler, and Tao must’ve been happy because she made herself one–though it was just slush, no flavor. We ended up sleeping in the bed together, with our slushies on my nightstand.
====
Thank God the next day was Friday because I was mentally and physically exhausted. Seriously. On the History test, I got 100, and in Art, Verc displayed my work for an example. Wow, I really sounded like a goody-goody…. ew. After Math, I got texts on my phone from Bull.
Bull: Hey, are you done in class??
Me: Yes, why?
Bull: Come to the library.
Me: Fine.

I had already been heading toward the dorms, so I redirected and went to Ria. 57. When I opened the doors, I could see Bear and Bull talking with their mom, and obviously trying to tell her a joke. Bull saw me, then stood up and waved me over like an idiot with a grin so bright that he looked kind of like a mad man. Chryseis rolled her eyes at him when Bear gently punched her shoulder, and she punched him back even harder. She saw me then grinned.
“Hello, Eris. Merry meet,” Chryseis said.

“Hello. Uhm, what do you two want?” I asked the Twins.

They perked up and rose to their feet. “Oh! We need your help,” Bear deeply said.

“We don’t know how the Dewey Decimal System works… so can you help?” Bull gave me the biggest grin ever.

“I guess….”

“Eris, I suggest you run as far as possible; they’ll start depending on you like they’re lost puppies.” Chryseis gave them an annoyed look then smiled again before leaving.

“Ma!” Bear laughed. “That’s not nice!”

“I love you!” Bull called out.

I laughed when Chryseis turned around and gave them a playful finger.
“ What do you guys need?” I asked.

“Uhm, dragons. Particularly babies… that are sick… and shooting themselves into the air.”

“Ah, Riva and RIpley? They’re so cute! But, you left them alone with Dallas?”

Bear nodded as we crossed over to a bookshelf. “He isn’t that bad of a parent. Dallas turns on the game and they’re mesmerised.”

“Ya mean like you?” I glanced back at them as I handed them a thick book.

Bull carried the first book over to the lounge area, and I passed an even thicker one to Bear. He joined his brother in the red chairs then flipped them open.
“Goddamn!” They started coughing and waving their hands at the tons of dust from the book covers.

“Well, that was probably written in 1700 B.C.,” I sighed, kicking my feet up on the table.

Bear skimmed for a while then gasped, “I’ve found nothing!”
Bull took his turn then said, “Oh wow, there’s nothing useful in here!”

“Well, you’ve only read two pages, so, you should look a bit deeper. Pick a number, divide it by 2 or 4, then read that page.”

The Twins got their numbers then flipped through the books again. Bull found something and said, “It’s because mama had a dragon-flu!”

“And, they have terrible immune systems,” Bear mumbled, flipping through more pages as if he’d never held a book before. “This is so not English,” he chuckled.

Bear and Bull looked for a bit more then handed the books back to me like I was a servant. I looked at them as if they were crazy. “Since when am I your servant? God gave you two working legs, so use them.”

Bear made a groan and got louder while he stomped off to the bookshelf, same with Bull and his cute pout. They came back then looked at me like I was the devil.
“Problem? I’m just trying to keep you two in shape,” I deviously smiled but the Twins rolled their eyes.

“We gotta go and check on Dallas, are you coming?” Bull asked, standing up and running his fingers through his cloudy hair.

Every time I stared at his tresses, I just wondered how he made his clothes match something so bright. I was sure his hair was a brighter white than snow, and when I looked at Bear’s hair, it was darker than a summer night sky.

“Nah, I’m gonna stay here. Hey, Bear, can you go ask Zara for a book on Fire? And Earth? And Water? And Air?”

Bear turned the corner of his lip up into a sneer. “Uhm, do I look like a male stripper? Then don’t ask me to please you.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Caine.” Bull looked at him with bright grey eyes but Bear huffed air out of his nostrils.

“If you get it, I’ll buy you a smoothie,” I quickly bribed.

It took Bear about two seconds to sprint to the front desk and come back with the four books. He had an obsession with smoothies; there wasn’t anything Bear wouldn’t do for a smoothie. He gently passed them to me.
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Call me when you really need a smoothie.”

“Okay! Bye,” Bear said. He and Bull walked out of the library then went back to the apartments for Dallas.

Why did I need these books? Good question. Sometime that following week I wanted to cast a circle and “talk with” my affinity. Over a month without powers made me kinda antsy, so I made it a goal to cast a circle at least once so I didn’t freak-the-fuck-out. The books would just show me how to do it properly; no room for screwing up.

I sat the books on the table, side by side then opened the Air first. One thing from rituals I remembered was: Air, Fire, Water then Earth; call them in that order, dismiss them backwards. Since the Twins and Dallas gave me those candles, I’d been illuminating our dorm with them and concentrating on my homework (and it really worked). Casting a circle was completely different: I had to make sure I had a purified space; complete the circle; do it well; 10000000% of my attention is on the circle; have a purpose. Well, I had those answers and items. To purify the space, I could use the lavender batch Nana and Papa gave me, and weave it to make a scented braid. Completing the circle is easy: I just needed a certain amount of area with my candles in a compass organization. And, the rest was fairly easy to do or find or whatever. Studying the Riate words got very confusing, since I was used to the rituals being written in english. Some of the letters got turned over, some had extra lines, most had squiggly lines and twists, and I had to translate all of it! Well, after a difficult study, I picked up the books and crossed over to the colossal desk.

Zara was in her own little world, reading One for the Money and humming a tune.
“Zara—”

“AH!” Zara’s book flew out of her hand and she was all bug-eyed. She sighed when she realized it was me. “I’m sorry, Eris. Pardon me for startling you.”

That little scream she did made me jump. “It’s alright. And, you have a beautiful screaming voice, it is truly outstanding,” I smiled but Zara gave me a look.

She noticed the books against my chest and nodded. “Ah, casting circles, huh. Have any idea when you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, before this month is over.”

Zara nodded as she typed something into her computer, with her pink nails flying across the keyboard. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she had a cute flower crown on.
“Alright,” Zara grinned. “Feel free to keep them as long as you like, I won’t mind if they’re not returned.”

“Zara, I can’t just do something like that. That’s called stealing,” I was being serious but she laughed.

“Sweetie, it’s not considered stealing if I say you can have them. Heck, I’m the only Professor who’s read all 17,836 of these books, and, I have permission to give them to you. So, study long and hard, and have a great circle.”

She was right: her affinity (Reading, obviously) made her memorize chapters and lines from books, and it made her read twice as fast. So, if she said I could have them, there was no arguing.

I raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Zara wiggled her fingers at me and I exited the large glass doors.

Not only did I just get four gigantic books, but, I can reread and do an even better job on my circle. With my mental notes, I planned to cast the circle tomorrow, in the woods where it’s secluded and peaceful. I would make an addition to the lavender, and mix some dried eucalyptus to give it a yummy smell. The entire purpose of the circle would be to connect with my powers spiritually, more than just physically and emotionally. Oh! I had to use the candles Dallas and the Twins gave me, and I’d add another candle: the one Giovanni gave to me.

I’d use it for Spirit. I read that Spirit was an affinity, and categorized as an Element, so why not? The purple candle would be in the middle, with the other four in a perfect diamond to connect them all.

Seems like my circle was gonna be pretty darn good. While coming up the stairs in the dorms, my phone buzzed with a text from Dallas.
Dallas: what are u doing?
Me: Why?
Dallas: Answer my question, please.
Me: Going to my room. Why?

Dallas was just asking about his sweatshirt—I kinda took it last time I slept over. He wanted it back, but I wanted to keep it because it smelt like him and it was big and warm! Dallas said he’d steal it back, I highly doubted that he’d do it.

When I walked into the dorm room, Tao was coming out of the shower with a bit of cold smoke radiating from her wet body. She whirled around and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I waved and smiled back.

“What’d you do after school? I missed you last Hour,” Tao said as she searched for some clothes.

“Oh, the Twins needed me.”

“Hmm. And, what’s up with the books?” She slipped a shirt over her head and glanced at me.

I dropped the books on my desk then laid down on the bed. “Well, I’m casting a circle soon, so I just needed some review.”

“That’s awesome!” Tao clapped her hands together and gave me the happiest smile ever.

I smiled back as she stepped into a pair of gym shorts.

She sneered at her purse on the desk. “Poop. Well, I have to finish this for Kirsi”—Tao pulled a thin stack of papers out of her bag—”and I don’t feel like it.”

“Tao.” I snatched the papers from her. There were only four pages, so it shouldn’t have been that hard. “Half and half?”

“Honey, no. Thank you, I have to do this by myself, because this is stuff I don’t know. You know it, but I don’t.” Tao gently took the papers back and sashayed to her desk.

She put her iPhone on the speaker and turned on Kenny Chesney—oh God. I sat on my bed, listening to her sing along and do her homework. It was funny to watch Tao multitask, because she was super clumsy. The pen kept rolling off of the desktop, so she had to continuously bend over and pick it up. After the eighth time, Tao froze the writing utensil to the desk and continued working. (Great use of power.)

She closed her books and put her stuff away, saying, “Finished!”

“Good job, Tao Chesney,” I muttered.

“You know it. Hey, so I gotta tell you this story.”

“I’m listening…” I drew my eyes to her.

“So, one time when I was 14, there was this boy”—with Tao, there’s always a boy—”and he was real cute. And, I finally grew the tits to go over and say hi, but, I was just so nervous! I went over, he waved, and I freaked out! I accidentally froze his hand like—” Tao had her hands up, and there was a little spark of energy before the power shot out of the window, and sent a strong wind through the room. Tao got flung back onto her bed, and there was a big crackle of ice over our heads. After the ice stopped falling, I sat up and shook the tiny crystals out of my hair. Tao had not moved yet.

“Tao!” I scrambled out of bed and came over next to her, and she hugged me. “Are you okay?”

Her cold body felt even colder, and I was just scared that I would lose her. “That ain’t supposed to happen,” Tao nervously chuckled into my neck. I held her out at arm’s length then smiled.

I pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. But—” Tao flicked her hand out, with the intention of getting ice to hit the wall, but nothing happened. She tried over and over again until she was hyperventilating and frantically talking over me.

“Eris, Eris, my powers! What happened? Eris! Help, I dunno what—”

“Calm down,” I slowly and loudly said. Tao cradled her head in her hands. “Okay, we need to go and alert Brice, because that’s not normal.”

“Right,” she flatly said. Tao was stunned—in all of 14 years, she’d never lost her powers or anything. She grabbed a hoodie then stepped into her boots; I stepped into my shoes and we quickly went downstairs.

It was past curfew, but that was the least important thing right now. What was important was Tao. Some of the girls were sitting in the living room watching MTV, and one of those girls was Giovanni. I tapped her shoulder and her soft pink eyes locked on mine.
“What’s up?” she signed.

“Giovanni, we have to leave. It’s important, and we’re going to Brice. Just, don’t freak if we’re leaving after curfew,” I replied.

“Is everything okay? You look upset.” Her hands moved quickly, so I knew she wasn’t happy with what we were asking.

“Sorta. We… We’ll explain it later, but we have to go.” Tao and I bowed to her and she smiled back.

Tao and I burst out of the glass doors then hurriedly walked over to Ria. 84. (We knew we’d be in some deep shit if we were sprinting around like Usain Bolt—especially after curfew.) When we passed by the apartments, it was clear that there was a party going on, because chatter was beyond the roof. And a bunch of lights were on on the top floor. Tao grabbed my arm and said, “We might just have to run… I don’t want to take too long.”

“Eh, you’re right,” I nodded then we broke out into sprint.

By time we got there, Tao and I were both breathing a bit hard (we may or may not have run into a crazy gremlin).

We opened the doors and walked down the dark hallway to Brice’s office. From inside, we could hear Brice talking to someone—not to himself, but someone.
“Maybe you should tell that to your aunt, Karder,” he said.

Oh. He was talking to Xi and Karder—his sons. (The two men who escorted me into Rianate, and, they were the ones to take Aya’s body away.) I didn’t even figure that out until Dad told me, but, it made sense: they were a bit older than us (maybe 27-30 years old), they worked for Brice all the time, and they had Brice’s ,. (It just meant that Lena was their aunt.) And no one had seen Lena for a while, she went to Arizona for something. Anyway, Brice finished talking with them, then Xi and Karder passed us in the hall.
“Girls,” Xi asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the dorms? Curfew.”

“We need Brice, it’s far too important to wait,” Tao replied.

“Oh. Merry part,” Karder said, bowing to us. He and his brother quickly left to wherever they stayed—I think in the mansion. Tao took an intense breath, then slowly widened the heavy door…. Brice was standing with his back to us, sipping on wine from a silver goblet.

“Brice…” Tao faintly said.

He quickly turned to us with a raised eyebrow. “It is past curfew. You two shouldn’t—”

“Her powers are gone,” I blurted, inadvertently cutting him off.

His expression darkened. “What? Why has this happened? Show me, please.”

Tao started walking closer then flicked her wrist, but nothing…. nothing came out. She let out a frustrated sigh and plopped down in the leather wingback chair .
“I dunno what happened, Brice. We were in the dorm, and it didn’t work. It was like, some invisible force pushed my powers out of my body,” Tao explained, looking him dead in the eye. “The ceiling froze over, and the ice melted, crackled and fell onto us.”

“Hmm, well this is completely abnormal. Sit, Eris,” Brice said. I plopped down in the chair, Brice took his seat behind his desk and continuously stroked his bearded chin. “Now, it is completely peculiar… It’s never been that two Rio have lost their powers, and it’s never been two friends that it’s happened to.”

Tao and I shared a knowing look. She turned back to Brice then said, “What’re we going to do?”

“It’s not all that safe for us to be powerless,” I added.

He must’ve gotten an idea because his dark eyes lit up. “Well,” a smile crept onto his lips. “Asking for help always works.”

“Wha?” we dumbly huffed at once. I shook my head before saying, “Brice, what kind of help do you need? Everything is right in front of you, you practically own us.”

“Yeah, who’d be able to help?” Tao creased her brow.

“It’s not like I have an affinity for everything. Leave me, I’ll show you two tomorrow. But for now, avoid things that could harm you or your non-existent powers. After school, I think I’ll have something to help. Merry part.” He gently bowed to us, and we stood then bowed back.

Tao dragged me out of the doors and we started back to the dorms.

“Tomorrow? After school? What the shit, I lose my powers and now we’re playing tea party? Did he do this with you? How in the world are we supposed to get them back? Why did this happen? Please, tell me why. Because I don’t have an answer to any of my questions, and it’s tiring to be so overwhelmed and stressed out!” Tao frantically said, waving her cold hands around in front of her chest.

“Tao, it’s not so hard after a while. Brice knows what he’s doing, but, I’m not so sure about playing tea party either. We’ll just have to wait.” I gave her an apologetic smile; Tao rested her head on my shoulder.

We had been talking to Brice for a while, and it was nearing 1am. But, I couldn’t care less because that next day was Saturday, and, I had to make one more stop. I had decided to cast circle tomorrow night, but now that Tao’s powers were gone, we needed some extra candles. It was completely out of the norm for Rios to be out this late, and we had to go all the way over to the Rec Hall. In the Rec Hall where kids performed rituals or just hung out, there was another gigantic room—for candles. Literally hundreds of candles, row upon row upon row, just in this extra storage room. They were used for circles, or if someone wanted a candle for the night. And, the candles were based on affinity, and I knew there had to be some Ice ones in there.

I held Tao’s forearm as we entered the closed gates. The door wasn’t locked, but it was steel and it took both of us to open it. Tao shut the door after we got in, then followed me down to the room. We creaked open the next steel door and the different scents of candles hit us.
“It always smells good in here,” I grinned.

“What do we need? You have four candles for your circle,” Tao softly said as she observed the different candles.

“Yeah, those are for me, we need some for you.” I spotted the first light blue candle and made an “aha!” sound. Grabbing the first, my eyes lifted and I saw the second. Tao grabbed another, but we just had to find a fourth… Oh! (Trust me, this would be much harder if our vision wasn’t so good. There were well over a thousand candles in there.)

Tao seized the last and we quietly left the room, shutting the large door behind us. Ten minutes later, we were climbing up the stairs in the Girls’ Dorm and getting back to our room. I sat the candles on her shelf, Tao put hers next to mine. She turned to me as she stripped off her hoodie.
“So, you’re saying you’re gonna cast a circle for both of us?”

“No,” I corrected, “we’re gonna cast a circle for the both of us.”

“But, I dunno how to do that shit,” Tao sighed.

“Neither do I. Well, sorta—whatever. Tomorrow afternoon, stop at the library and read about yours, okay?”

Tao nodded as she crawled into the bed. “I’m hella tired, goodnight.”

I took off my clothes then flopped back onto the soft bedspread. Five seconds into laying down and relaxing, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Dallas: r u sleojaeping?

His typos made it clear that Dallas was shit-faced.

Me: Baby, get some sleep.
Dallas: HeAKJy nhl. paibSues wqhxat?

This was one of those times when autocorrect did not want to correct him.

Me: Dallas.

Dallas: Nothing. naijJusjnvSayingqmxks

He was drunk. Seriously.

Me: Go to bed, good night.

Dallas sent a few random letters then continued blowing me up. I didn’t bother checking my phone every time it buzzed, Dallas was just sending me random words like “hey” or “Eris” or “wake up” or “hah,” just drunk stuff. (At least I know he was at that party.) My notifications started signaling phone calls (Dallas was a drunk-caller), and they lasted about two seconds. Many phone calls and text messages later, I slowly closed my eyes and got to sleep.
====
I knew the second I should’ve woken up to check on Dallas because he interrupted my dream. I had been lying out in the sun (sunny weather is the bomb) on a big, heart-shaped floatie in the middle of a lake made of Sprite (who knows?), when all of a sudden everything disappeared and Dallas’ voice burst into my skull.
“You’re too young to sleep so late!”

God, he reminded me of my Father. My eyes fluttered open to meet Boing’s heavy glare with her fluffy tail resting on my neck. She made her annoyed squeak sound, sneezed, stood up long enough to pad around and around in circles on my chest, then she plopped down and took up the pillow space.
“You’re really no help at all,” I grumbled.

She ignored me. I only had on a polka-dot bra, and black shorts, so I was extra chilly. Fuck, I did need to go check on Dallas—he REALLY knew how to drink. I rolled my neck on my shoulders, then pushed my messy hair back and out of my eyes. Tao was curled up in a little ball, with her arm under her cheek and her face smushed into the pillow. Cutie. Mumble and Mikey were chilling on the floor, with Mumble laying on Mikey’s side and Mikey snoozing with his face in his paws.

I ran to the bathroom, took a hot shower, then quickly got dressed. If anything, leaving Dallas by himself while he was hungover was terrible. He was usually grumpy in the morning, but especially with a headache and tons of alcohol in his system. Ha, just to see him suffer…. Anyway, I grabbed my cellphone and stepped into my shoes then left the room.

Oh boy. I walked into Dallas’ place and saw the loose tee shirt on the couch. Peeking into the hallway, I saw the cracked bedroom door, and I heard Dallas shuffling the covers around. I sat my bag on the chair then slowly approached the bed. He was laying on his front, with his messy hair and his bare back to me. His Maxi looked sexy, but I wasn’t focused on that. I softly shook his shoulder.
“Dallas,” my voice barely reached a whisper. He wasn’t budging. I shook his shoulder again. “Dallas.” Nada. I put my hand on the base of his neck and got close to his ear. “DALLAS!”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Dallas popped up and threw a pillow at me.

“Ow!”

“Oh, baby.” He groaned. Dallas rubbed my cheek and said, “I’m sorry, but don’t do that.”

“It’s… fine? Jesus, boy, get up!” I poked his shoulder but Dallas didn’t smile. “When did you get home?”

“Uh…” Dallas glared at the clock on his nightstand. His normally bright blue eyes were reflecting his mood: dull and crestfallen. “2am, I think. I dunno.”

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his thighs, and his head down. I ran my fingers through his messy locks, making Dallas sigh and rest his head on my stomach.
“Maybe a shower,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Shush. I know, I’m dirty and need a shower. And, dear God, I need food! And coffee! And sleep! Ughh,” Dallas flopped back onto the bed and covered his face with a pillow. He still had on his jeans, but they were low-rise so I had a good view.

“Rebel, maybe you shouldn’t stay out so long, since you enjoy sleeping the day away.”
I called him Rebel for two reasons: it was his middle name, and Dallas read this story about a guy named Rebel who always drank. Plus, he was my little Rebel.

“Not in the mood for jokes.” His voice was muffled but I could hear him clearly.

“Okay. Well, take a shower, I’ll make you food and stuff.”

“Thanks, Avatar.” Dallas chucked the pillow at the wall, and I flinched when it landed on the hard surface with so much force. He got up then squeezed my hip. “I can’t kiss you because I have every hint of alcohol on my breath.”

I chuckled and Dallas patted my ass. He shut the bathroom door then did his business while I went to prepare him breakfast. 20 minutes later, a fresh Dallas walked into the kitchen for breakfast, coffee, and medicine. He took a sip of the coffee and made a satisfied groan. He leaned his head back to me.
“Did I ever tell you that you make caffeine taste like Jesus?”

“I’ve been told before,” I giggled, handing him the plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

“And did I ever tell you that you have just made food my new drug?”

“Nah, but you should. And, did you brush your teeth?”

Dallas nodded. “Why—” I didn’t give him time to answer before devouring his lips. Keeping my lips on his, I took the coffee from his hands, and Dallas seized my hips. He trapped me against the counter, using his tongue to explore my mouth while I inched my fingers into his sweatpants. We finally pulled away, breathing hard and Dallas had a slight smile on.

“Because I wanted to do that,” I grinned, walking to the living room.

Dallas quickly joined me and he ate his food while I searched for something to watch. He took his plate back to the kitchen then laid on the cushions with me. I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him about Tao losing her powers, Dallas wouldn’t really care.
“We probably need to check on the Twins,” he muttered.

“What? Are they shit-faced too,” I groaned, tossing my head back and closing my eyes.

“If I was that bad, they have to be drowning in a tub of beer. Come on.”

Dallas yanked me off of the couch and we quickly went to Bear’s apartment. His place was pretty neat, he just had a few misplaced items here and there (not to mention everything was dark, and, all of the curtains were closed). In the bedroom, Bear was laying on his stomach with the covers tossed to the side and his tee shirt dangling at the foot of the mattress. Dallas gave me a look then mouthed, “I’ll do it.”

I nodded. Dallas took a deep breath then crossed over to the side of the bed. He hit Bear with a pillow, he didn’t budge. Dallas tried over and over, but nothing. He rolled his eyes then grabbed two more pillows. Dallas hit Bear with so much force that I even flinched. With lightning speed, Bear hopped out of bed, shoved Dallas onto the ground and yelled, “GET OUT!”

I picked up a pillow and hit him in the stomach. Bear barely (haha) moved, but he was taken aback by the way I hit him.
“You get off your ass and get in the shower,” I huffed, giving him a death stare. “And say sorry.”

Bear sneered at me but grinned at Dallas. “Sorry, fucker. I’ll go for the nuts next time.”

“Thank you.” Dallas grinned back as he picked himself up. Bear hurried off to the shower then did his own business. Dallas looked back at me with dark green eyes and said, “You can wake up Christopher. He actually scares me a bit.”

I shrugged and we left to go and get Bull. Once again, his place was really nice, and he was in his bedroom snoozing away. The duvet was a bright blue pattern, and the gazillion of pillows were a cute shade of blue (they really contrasted with his white hair). I hit him with a pillow, nothing happened. After the tenth time, Bull seemed as if he was dead. I gave Dallas a helpless look but he mouthed, “Super hard.” I heeved a great sigh then saw Bear appear in the doorway. He asked me for the pillow but I scrunched up my nose to make him back down.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Bull. I held the pillow out then, I rammed it down onto his back.
“WHAT THE FUCK!”

I think that did it. Bull sat up then saw it was me. “You little—”

I ran over to Dallas and Bear and stood behind them, looking over their shoulders at the hungover victim. Bull hopped out of the bed then gave me a death stare.

Bull twisted up his mouth. “Someone make me breakfast, I need to shower.”

“Anything else for our queen?” I said under my breath.

“I’d like your head on a stick. Your queen shall be clean.” Bull slammed the bathroom door and did his own little business.

By time Bear and Bull were done with breakfast and going about their day, Dallas and I were sitting in the bedroom and talking.
“…and it was really nasty,” I giggled. I just told him a story about the time my friend had cat pee in a cup and poured it in my backpack. (We were 15, don’t judge.)

He tossed his head back and started laughing. I pulled him down into a kiss, but I didn’t expect Dallas to stick his tongue into my mouth.
“Baby!” I giggled.

“I want to show you my love,” he laughed into my mouth.

I pushed him off. “Show your love in another way, but don’t choke me with your organ.”

“What the….” Dallas sighed and shook his head. “Choke you with my organ?”

“Tongue”—I stuck my tongue out—“organ.”

“Eris”—Dallas put his finger on my forehead—“weirdo.”

I blew him a kiss and Dallas kissed me for real. After the eternal kiss, he pulled back then said, “I have to go soon. And, I don’t want to start something we can’t finish.”

“Poop! Where do you have to go?” I replied`.

“Uh, Riva and Ripley, duh. And, I have to check on Hannah and Harley. Oh, and I have to go practice. And I have to—”

“That’s amazing, but I don’t care.”

Dallas pushed the side of my face as he got off of the bed. He reached into his closet, grabbed something then sighed. Dallas pulled out a deep blue shirt and grinned. “You might wanna close your eyes, I’m getting naked.”

“Oh, let me just open my eyes,” I laughed, turning to his body.

Dallas stripped his white shirt off then changed into the blue one. He tossed it over his shoulder, and into the hamper.
“Awh,” I pouted. “That wasn’t naked.”

“Close enough. Come on, I’m gonna walk ya back,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. Dallas wrapped his arm around my waist then nuzzled my hair.

“Ew,” I pushed him away but I was laughing. Dallas snapped his teeth at me. “Sorry, I don’t like people touching my hair.”

He looked down. Dallas hooked my neck in his elbow and (annoyingly) ruffled my hair like a relative would do to me. I had to reach down and grab his groin for him to stop.
“HEY!” Dallas laughed.

“Don’t touch.” I jumped on his back and started ruffling his hair. “Unless you want me to cut this off.”

“It’s beautiful, so don’t touch me!”

I dug my fingers into his thick hair then messed it up, but Dallas kept moving his head from my grip. We were walking down the hallway, so we probably looked very stupid. Dallas pulled me back to my feet and hooked his hand behind my neck to pull me close.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” he grinned.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I replied, running ahead to race him.

Dallas broke out running after me, and we made it to the dorms much faster than expected. I reached up then ran my fingers through his hair once more.
“Thank you for saving me from a terrible hangover,” Dallas chuckled.

“Anytime. And, thank you for touching my hair like a creep,” I smiled.

He kissed the top of my head and sent me on my way. Now, this circle: it’d be fairly easy to cast Tao—since she had one affinity to control. But me, that would be a bit different because I had never done all four. Hmm.

Heading into the kitchen for my brown pop, questions swarmed around in my head, but, I wasn’t that freaked out about the circle. Hell, I’d seen someone cast one, and call their powers, but any other time, it hadn’t really crossed my mind. I was still gonna do it. And, Tao had to call her own. She texted me earlier and said that she read some stuff in the library, so she somewhat knew what we were doing.

I walked upstairs to our room then saw Tao walking down from the other hall.
“Hey,” she called out.

“Hey.” I waited a few seconds for her to catch up. She looped her arm with mine and we continued walking. “So are you excited to cast this circle?”

“Actually, I am very excited. I told my mom, and, since she’s such a softy, she freaked out. But I told her that I was okay, and we were doing the circle tonight.”

“Oh, good. Well, it’s 6 right now… So, be ready at 9pm, and we’ll have enough time.”

Tao nodded and opened the door for us. I went straight to my nightstand then started searching around for my lavender batch that Nana gave me, and I needed the eucalyptus. They both smelled really good. And together, that’s like Jesus touched my nostrils. I grabbed my four candles, and Tao handed me hers.
“Thank you.” I put the candles together on my desk with a silver lighter.

Oh! I almost forgot about the candle Giovanni gave me! While I was getting the stuff together, Tao had taken the time to braid the lavender and eucalyptus together in one long strand.
“Heh, thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome. This smells amazing,” Tao replied.

“Imagine what it smells like burning.”

Tao smiled and handed me the braid. By time it was 9pm, we were gently putting the stuff in one of Tao’s bags so we could leave for Ria. 200.

When we found the circle to stop at, I looked at Tao and reached into the blue bag. I sat the candles and lavender against a tree then Tao drew a circle in the air with her cold hand.
“This is the circle,” she explained.

“Alright. So, these four trees”— I pointed to the four gigantic oaks—”will keep the barrier.”

“Kay.”

Tao and I decided for her to cast first, so we grabbed all the blue candles and put them North, East, South and West to create a perfect cross. I lit the lavender, then motioned for her to step into the middle of the circle. Clearing my throat, I stepped into the little opening and began:
“I call for Ice to join our circle, and give back the gelid powers to Tao…” I rotated around the entire circle, waving the burning strand through the air. Tao sat in the middle of the circle, with her eyes locked on all of my movements.

I lit the first candle and continued, “Ice for integrity, Tao doesn’t even have to try.”

Second candle. “To be creative, and not to lose our spark, Ice for Imagination.”

The third one seemed to glow brighter. “Ice for Importance.”

When I lit the fourth, I could feel it. The short jolt of energy that ran down my spine. But, it wasn’t a regular energy—it was chilly and made goosebumps appear on my skin. “Ice for Individuality because no one’s the same. I call Ice to this circle!”

I quickly left the circle and closed it back up with a rock. (For a beginner, I said that beautifully.) All of the candles’ lights whipped up, and grew in size until Tao looked like she had four lamps around her. There was an energy. A light blue, glowing energy that ran candle to candle and cast a light upon Tao’s body. She was pretty much glowing herself. But, Tao had her eyes closed, and it was obvious that she was taking deep breaths, to inhale the faint scent of lavender, and to be more connected to her powers. We read in the book that using a part of the affinity was important to the circle, so, I clutched my water bottle, and screwed open the top. There was just ice in here. I grabbed all of the little cubes, then threw them into the circle with Tao and I was shocked. Shocked by how the ice just attracted to her, like Tao had magnets in her hands. She clutched them in her palms, and I saw the glow from her back. Her Maxi. Tao’s black top gave me a good view of her upper back and the light blue icicles glew a dark blue, and I knew it was from the Ice. Damn, she looked so calm and relaxed.

The candles whipped out, and everything was still. No glowing Maxi. No energy connecting the candles. A relaxed Tao. The air was very chilly, and I had an idea why. She opened her eyes, then grinned at me.
“That was great. But it’s your turn.”

I weakly smiled and nodded.

Tao stood up, then fixed her long hair—the Ice and wind had made it a bit messy. She picked up the blue candles, and I placed the Elements in their spaces. Air was West, Fire was South, Water was East, and Earth was North. I had the purple candle in my hand as I stepped into the middle of the circle. Spirit was the center. Tao cleared her throat then smiled at me.
“Sit down, and relax,” she said.

I plopped down Indian-style then put the Spirit candle in between my legs. Here we go…. Tao relit the braid, then waved around the air.
“I call the Five Elements to join our circle, and bestow the importance of our powers upon Eris,” she gently said as she circled the space.

Tao finished purifying then walked to the Air candle.
“I call Air to this circle. We breathe it in our first breaths, so it is only right that it be the first Element called. Come to her, Air!”

Breezy.

Second candle was Fire.
“Fire warms us with its passionate flame. I call Fire to this circle!”

Hot.

She sauntered around to Water then grinned.
“Water is a perfect balance to flame, just as Eris is a perfect balance to soccer. I call Water to this circle!”

Cool.

Earth would be quadruple thee best.
“Earth supports us and nurtures us. As the fourth Element, I call Earth to this circle!”

Grass.

Quickly moving, Tao crossed over to me and nodded.
“It’s within all of us, important and soothing. I call Spirit to this circle.”

Relaxation.

I felt a jolt of energy run down my body, and I shut my eyes. The water…. air…. fire…. spirit…. earth.

My ears were filled with the crashing of waves against the beach shore.
It felt as if I was laying in the grass, with flowers and tall trees around me.
The warmth of a fireplace on a cold Christmas night made me happy and bubbly inside.
Wind was whipping through my hair, like the strongest tornado ever was approaching.
Mmm…. I was relaxed, and it felt like nothing mattered except for being calm, and alone.

Waves of power and relaxation rushed through my body, making me feel so…. Like everything was in place. I could feel the heat, the warmth of a blazing fire. I could feel the cool breeze softly blowing in the spring. I could feel water running down my body in the shower. And I could definitely feel cool, calm and collected emotions filling my brain. Inhale, exhale. In and out. Take and give. There was a fluttery feeling in my lower stomach. My Maxi was glowing. Gently placing my hand on my navel, I could feel how warm, and how powerful my Maxi was. Damn.

Before I could move again, my eyes shot open and I saw the energy. Whoa…. Red, blue, white, purple, and a green energy twirled together between the candles. It kinda startled me by how close the energy was to touching my body, there was no telling what could happen. Tao had tossed five sheer scarves into the circle: one to represent each Element. But, even touching the scarves, it made me radiant to feel the power charging through my body…. like my old self was back…. and it felt as if I had never lost the power. Though I’d been in the circle for a minor time, it was like an eternal event, that nothing compared to.

The energy slowly dispersed… leaving me alone in the circle. The candles whipped out, and we were left with soft scents of nature, and the melted wax. Tao glared at me.
“That felt like heaven,” I breathed.

“See? I know a thing or two about casting circles,” she giggled as she cleared up our supplies.

I stood up, grabbed my candles and broke the annulus we created with large rocks. The circle was cleared and gone, just the scent of lavender and eucalyptus remained in the silent air. Tao snatched her bag up then we headed back to the dorms. I felt relaxed. Calm. And I hadn’t felt this way in a looooooong time; my powers had been gone.
“Thanks,” Tao abruptly said. “That was completely amazing.”

“You’re very welcome. Yeah, I didn’t know what Spirit would feel like until then,” I responded.

“Hmph, I felt a bit of Water while I was in the circle…. Is that normal?” She gave me a confused look.

“Well, it is Ice and ice is just frozen, expanded water.” I paused. “It’s not your strength, but Water still exists within it.”

Tao nodded. It was 10:30pm, and I had to make a stop at the library, so I alerted Tao to proceed back to the dorms. When I entered the library, Zara waved me over to the front desk.
“Did you finish the book?” she smiled as bright as the sun.

“Zara, that book is well over one-thousand pages, I can’t finish four in one night,” I lightly chuckled. Zara was known for finishing books in less than two days.

“Well, you can always try. Haha, what are you looking for?”

“Uhm—”

I was cut off by a hand wrapping around my midriff. It was Dallas, and he winked down at me to show he meant no harm.
“Hi,” he sweetly smiled.

I shook it off then turned back to Zara. “Spirit, please. Tao and I cast our circles.”

Zara’s eyes went wide. “Really?! That’s great!”

Dallas hooked his finger in the waistband of my jeans and kept me against his body while Zara searched for the book. She handed me a book thicker than I could fully grasp.
“Keep this, too. Was all well?” Zara curiously asked.

“Great”— I shoved the book at Dallas. “I called Spirit, too, so it was way different! Tao said she felt Water when hers was called.”

“Ah, that’s good! Have you any idea when you’ll cast another?”

“No, but, I really wanna shoot for next month. But, I’m not so sure on a date for next month.”

Zara gave a single nod. She looked past me then said, “Dallas, have you cast your circle yet?”

“No, what am I gonna cast for?” Dallas raised an eyebrow.

“Mister, you could cast for anything. It may not be as important to your strength, but it’d be a good idea. Yellow candles would suit you.”

Dallas curled his lip up. “I don’t like yellow.”

“Why not purple?” Zara gave a smirk but Dallas rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Dallas. Purple would be nice.”

“Purple’s for girls,” he grumbled. “And, I’m not that feminine.”

“To me you are,” I smiled.

Zara waved us off while she laughed. “Get out of here. Eris, keep that if you need.”

We walked away and Dallas followed me out of the library. While walking, he switched hands and palmed my backside with his strong grip.
“Hey!”

Dallas gave me an innocent look. “Ass is class, hun.”

I rolled my eyes when he tried to kiss my cheek. Dallas hooked the side of my neck and planted a big kiss on my temple. I made an unattractive groan.
“You love me,” he whispered against my skin.

“Who says? I could be playing,” I grumbled, playfully pushing him off.

“Oh, don’t fib to yourself. So, how did the circle go?”

“AMAZING! I almost freaked out when it almost touched me!”

Dallas frowned. “What is the ‘it’?”

“Energy,” I smartly answered.

“Ah, that. How’d it go for Tao?”

“Great, she really liked it. And, to purify, we used the lavender Nana gave me for Christmas, and found some eucalyptus.”

“Huh, cool. Do me a favor: cast me a circle with red candles and tell me how it goes.” Dallas flashed his half smile.

“No, baby.” I pushed his arm. “You have to do it for yourself, tell me how it goes. I’ll even help you.” I smiled up into his regular blue eyes.

“But that’s too much wooooork.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and we continued walking. Dallas stopped in front of the glass doors of the dorms, then looked down at me. He handed the book over.
“Damn,” I huffed as it dropped into my arms.

“Do you want me to carry it up? You’re kinda weak, Avatar.” Avatar was his nickname for me because I controlled the Elements, but Air was my favorite. Dallas stuck his hands out for the book and I just kicked his leg. “Ow, what the sh—”

“Hah. What’s that you said to me that one day… Don’t be a smartass, it triggers others to be an even smarter ass. Now I’m gonna say something: Don’t be a smartass, it triggers people to kick you!”

Dallas rolled his eyes before claiming my mouth. He cupped my neck as he bent down… pulling me closer to his delicious lips. We were standing by one of the picnic tables, so I put the book down and reacted with my arms around his shoulders.
“God, I want sex,” Dallas moaned.

“Not appropriate,” I giggled, gently nibbling his lower lip.

Dallas stuck his tongue into my mouth and I let out a quiet moan. He cupped my ass, then effortly lifted me off of the ground. I could tell he had been drinking cold water because his tongue felt like ice in my mouth, but it was the type of feeling that made my tummy flutter, and my heart become more of his. I wrapped my legs around his waist and Dallas slid his hands under my shirt, cupping my breasts and working his hand under my bra. He managed to squeeze my nipples, which made me wetter and my moaning get louder.
“Come back with me,” Dallas said on my lips. He teased his tongue on the hoops in my ear, and I groaned his name in pleasure.

“I’m sorry. But, I gotta go,” I smiled.

Dallas kissed my ear and whispered, “Fine, I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye,” I smiled. He let me go and I walked up to my dorm.

Our hallway was pretty quiet, and Tao was laying down in her bed with a Sprite in her left hand. She looked up then nodded.
“Hey,” I wiggled my fingers.

“Hey. What’d you get at the library?” she asked. I handed her the Spirit book. “Oh, makes sense.”

“Yeah. What really makes sense is some sleep.”

I quickly showered, then came back out to lay down. Boing jumped onto my pillow and laid on my face. Her white fur got into my teal hair, and she decided to rest her tail on my neck.
“Can you move?” My voice was muffled by her body.

Eiee-ei-eeeie.

“Is that a no?”

Ei-ei-eeeeeeeeie!

Okay, that’s a no. By time Boing got back to bed, I was gasping for air and trying not to choke on her butt. I moved her to the side a bit then took the desired breaths. From across the room, Tao had her head propped up on her wrist while she watched me suffer.
“Damn,” I breathed.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re dying,” she giggled.

“Maybe I am.”

Tao laid down and Boing scooched her tush onto my shoulder. It took me a while to get over the fact that Boing had her ass all on me, but I eventually blacked out and fell into the world of my dreams.
====
Another great sleep, but terrible awakening. I was in the climax of my dream when my phone invaded. I was swimming in the middle of the ocean, with sharks circling around me, and I was following after a mermaid who looked exactly like my mother. The faint, muffled, distorted sound of the annoying tri-tone from my cellphone made me start to choke on water, and that’s when I woke up. I grabbed the device and saw who it was.
“Hey, Dad,” I sighed.

“Hello, are you still sleeping? You’re too young to sleep so late,” he replied. (Sounded a lot like my last dream.)

“Eh, yeah, what desires my attention?”

Before Dad could answer, I realized that Tao was on the phone with her mom. Lying down in the same position as me, and answering the same damn questions.
“Tao should be talking with Sumiko, but we need you two down at Ria. 42, we have something,” he explained.

“Okay.” We said our goodbyes then hung up.

I made my way blurrily to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water, trying to shock some awake into me. Tao walked in, then did the exact same thing. We brushed our teeth together, brushed our hair in the mirror and freshened up to leave.

Tao pulled on some low-rise jeans, with a crocheted top and her boots. I put on my shorts, a Nike tee shirt and wrapped my hair in a high ponytail. We quickly left the dorms and headed to our parents at the high school. Entering the front foyer, I could see Dad descending the right staircase from the upper-Professor floor.
“Hi, girls.” He bent down and kissed us both. “Upstairs.”

“Are we gonna be like, temporary Professors?” Tao muttered.

“Or guinea pigs,” I added.

“That second one,” Dad smiled. He opened the big glass door and we ducked under his arm into the hallway. Dad led us down the never-ending hallway, all the way to an open door where Chryseis, Sumiko and Professor Nolan were talking.
“Hello,” Tao and I half-stated, half-asked.

“Merry meet.” Chryseis bowed to us. “If you’re wondering why I’m here: it’s because I was the one to ask Nolan.”

“Oh, Chryseis, taking all the credit,” Sumiko laughed and winked at her.

“Hello, girls.” Professor Nolan crossed to us and shook our hands. He had dull yellow hair, with the brightest yellow eyes like a dragon. With an affinity for Reptiles, he had a Maxi on his neck that reminded me of scales, and I loved looking at it. “I know about your powers, and I think I can help,” he said.

Tao raised an eyebrow but I spoke first: “The thought ritual?”

“That’s it. It’s like a polygraph test, but, not all answers have to be verbal. I’ll be able to see your thoughts and words, it’s pretty fun to watch and fun to experience.” Nolan gave us a light smile. For a guy almost 6”10, he was like a cuddly giant. (Rian men were fucking tall, I had no idea why it was necessary.)

“Oh. Okay,” Tao and I dumbly said.

Nolan looked at our parents and Chryseis. “Er vew jiu zau quero?” They nodded and Nolan turned back to us. “Follow me.”

I directed Tao to the door and we followed Nolan out of the Professor hall. Very tall was all I could say to describe him. Anyway, he took us downstairs and through the halls toward the extra courtyard back there. Nolan pushed open the steel doors, and we were welcomed to an open concrete Yard—much bigger than our regular ones. I knew this place was used for rituals and whatnot.

“Sit on two sides,” Nolan said.

Tao went right; I went left (dominant hand). Nolan uncloaked a small table and I could see the stuff on the top: a candle, a knife and… I had no idea what that mason jar was for.

“Okay, girls. I wanna explain a few things before y’all freak. First, the candle is so I can recite the ritual, second, the knife is for blood, third, the jar is literally for catching important thoughts—” hold up, did he say catch our thoughts?! Nolan turned to me.

“Yes, I did, Eris.” (I knew the Professors could technically read minds—one of the reasons I was such a bad liar to Dad.) “Now, I’m gonna need a strand of hair from you two. Or, are your precious locks too important?” he grinned.

Tao plucked a small hair from her hair, I did the same. Nolan brought them to the table and smiled. “Now comes the blood. Arms or hands.”

I stuck my hand out and he pricked my finger; it stung, but the blade felt kinda good. Nolan dabbed the scarlet line with his own finger, then smeared it on his wrist. And the exact same with Tao. He stood behind the table once more, then began:
“Ner awq loh b’pina, sir fsut ca xixi munn,” Nalan pricked his own finger with the blade. “Dfe de dugn d’sance. Ca huj ecza Perlo!” Wow. I shivered and that was the last thing I remembered.

In what felt like two minutes later, I sat back up and looked directly at Tao. Before I could say anything, Nolan spoke, “Good to have you back, don’t say a word. Just think.”

I didn’t say anything. Tao looked at me and my mouth dropped…. her thoughts were floating around her in purple, blue and white.

Eris? Do you feel weird? Nolan, why does my head hurt? Damn, my head feels like shit. I need to talk.

She was looking back at me with the same expression. So I had thoughts, too?! Damn! Nolan cleared his throat and sat down between us.
“Girls, I want you to say one word a piece. See what happens,” he sighed.

“Hi,” Tao quickly replied. The word came out in a shimmery, sapphire blue fog.

“Eris.” The same fog appeared in front of me! Haha, this was fun!

“Okay, say four bad words. Cursing or a negative word,” Nolan said.

“Bad. Fuck. Lonely. Upset.” My words came out in a dull, dark silver fog.

“Good. Tao, say four things that are either happy or uplifting.” Nolan turned his eyes to her.

“Flowers. Ice. Dogs. Rainbows,” Tao’s words came out in a cute, fairy purple color. She smiled.

Nolan stood up then went back behind the table. “Since your powers are gone, we’re gonna use this to assist on getting them back. So, say or think anything you want, but, it has to be related to your power or any theories y’all have about them being missing. Get it, got it, good?”

“Get it, got it, good,” we repeated, admiring the blue fog. Nolan quickly sat the jar between our bodies then stepped back. I started thinking about how my powers got taken away, or how Tao’s did.

Two hours later, I was sitting in my bed and listening to music when there was a knock on the door.
“What?” I called out.

There were five rhythmic knocks—that was Giovanni. I quickly got up then swung the door open.
“Hey,” she signed.

I was shocked to see Dallas behind her.
“He wants to hang.” Giovanni exaggerated the signs then gave a sexual gesture.

“Oh so inappropriate,” I laughed.

She looked up at Dallas and he bowed to her.
“Thanks,” he said.

“Anytime.” (Giovanni could talk, but she liked to sign more.)

Dallas let her pass by then stepped into my dorm; he let out a wolf whistle. I hit his back.
“Grow up,” I grumbled.

“Damn, girl.” He pointed at the soccer posters above my bed, and the Fire/Water/Earth/Air ones by my closet. Dallas was gazing at the Hope Solo poster when Boing nuzzled his leg, making him jump back with a startled expression.

“Awh, you’re such a girl.” I bent down and picked up Boing. “It’s called a chinchilla: slightly bigger than a ground squirrel, and, her name is Boing. Hold her.” Dallas gently took Boing and she started exploring his neck area.

I had to change, so I yanked off my top and ran to the closet. Over the rows and rows of clothes, I just picked a basic white tee shirt then tossed my hair behind my shoulders. Dallas was sitting on my bed, laughing and playing with Boing while she scurried over the bedspread.
“Okay, we can go,” I announced.

Dallas looked at me. “Can we stay here?”

“Baby, you know you’re gonna be in a dorm… With 17 and 18 year old girls… Who like dicks… And you’re old…”

“I am not old, does it look like I have wrinkles? And, okay,” he chuckled. “But, can we bring this along?” Dallas waved at Boing like she was some grand prize.

I nodded and he sprang up with Boing in his left hand. Dallas waved to Mikey and Mumble then shut the door behind us. As we walked downstairs, I told him about Nolan performing the ritual on Tao and I.
“Hey, I want something to drink,” I said.

Dallas redirected me to the kitchen and I went to the fourth fridge. I could tell some of the girls were watching us talk; I felt their intense glares.
“Are you ready?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah, sure.” I took one last gulp of my brown pop then kicked the can into the recycling bin.

Dallas led me out of the glass doors and the cool breeze hit me. Very refreshing cool breeze. Since our pets could find us easily If they ever ran off, Dallas sat Boing onto the ground and she walked the other way as Dallas headed toward Ria. 200.
“So,” I asked, “what are we gonna be doing?”

“A walk,” Dallas replied.

“A walk? Since when do we go walking together? Is that like, some date?”

“No. It’s called I’m tired of not seeing the sun, so a walk.” He huffed out of his nose at me.

“Oh. Okay, walks are fun.” I smiled and tried to kiss his temple but Dallas pulled back.

He walked ahead then started running through the trees. I weaved around, and I saw him maneuver through the trees on my left.
“Dallas, it’s not funny,” I laughed.

“Then why are you laughing?” His sexy voice came from behind.

I stood still as he approached. “Because I can laugh at myself.”

Dallas snaked his arms around my midriff and pulled me back to him. He bent my head back, then kissed me good and hard.
“Hola,” I smiled up.

“Hey, Avatar. Come on,” he said as he let go of me. Dallas slipped his finger into the waistband of my shorts and kept me close while we walked further into the trees. Ten minutes into the walk, I slipped my hand under the hem of his tee shirt, and caressed his warm skin while Dallas attempted to push me off.
“Stop,” he grumbled.

“Why?” I purred, moving lower to his groin.

Dallas eventually pushed me off, so I walked with a big pout on, trying to make him give in.

He gave me a gigantic kiss when I noticed we had made it to the stream. The stream had two sides, and we were on the other side from where Aya started coughing and dying. But, this side had a massive hill behind us, and I could easily jump into the water. I was skipping rocks when I felt his hands on my shirt.
“Ah, what’re you—” the shirt came over my head. Dallas shoved my back.

“Get in,” he said.

“Baby, I don’t want to—”

He picked me up and I kicked my feet into the air, making my sandals fall to the grass. “Dallas! Stoppp!” Dallas brought me into the water and I gasped at how cold it felt on my warmed skin.

He put me on my feet but I was waving my arms around like an idiot at how gelid the water was. Dallas had his shirt off, and I was trying not to stare as I warmed up to the water.
“Have you ever been in here before?” Dallas asked, lightly pushing water on my stomach.

“No, but I’m guessing you have,” I replied.

Dallas nodded. “Come here, I wanna show you something.”

He took a few steps away into the water, but I hesitated before following. Dallas led me further downstream, until the water was just at the curve of my covered breasts. He went over to the wall then turned around to me.
“How long can you hold your breath?”

“1 minute, 23 seconds,” I replied. (Last time my friends took me swimming, we had a contest… And I was on the swim team for six years.)

“Okay. I’m gonna grab your hand, and you have to come under with me,” he explained. I nodded and Dallas grabbed my hand under the water. He dove under and I swam after him into a small, opening under the big rock wall. He popped up, so did I.

“Where the hell are we?” I panted, slicking my hair behind my shoulders.

“No one except for me and the Twins know this is here,” Dallas gently said.

The water came up to my shoulders, but Dallas had a bit of an advantage. He leaned back against the wall then looked at me. The space was big enough for probably two more people to fit in, the rock ceiling was about 7 feet up, and the water rushed into the walls.
“How do you know about this?” I asked.

“I used to come here all the time, when I still lived with the bitches,” he mumbled, looking around the water.

“Ya mean, Dayton and Dakota?”

He nodded. “I don’t come a lot, but, I make sure no one else finds it.” He smiled at me. “I guess you’re another person to know.”

“I guess,” I smiled back.

He crossed over to me and pushed me back against the cold stone, brushing his lips over mine and pressing flat against my body. (Thank God I was tall because I would probably be struggling to keep my head above the rushing water.) Dallas peered down at my bra; his lip curled into a smile.
“I’ll save you for later,” he said.

“Later? Psh,” I pushed the side of his face.

Dallas kissed my chest then whispered, “You taste good.”

I couldn’t say anything. His finger was trailing down my stomach, stopping to trace my Maxi and play with my navel. Dallas put his hand on my nape then started to kiss my neck, using his tongue to tease my skin.
“Baby… Mmm,” I moaned, running my fingers through his hair.

From the water, I could really feel how hard Dallas was—and how his dick was pushing into my lower stomach. I reached down, then softly massaged him through the fabric of his shorts. Before I could even wiggle into his boxers, Dallas stopped me.
“W-wait,” he said. I looked into his eyes (which were dark brown at the moment), and saw the lust in his soft pupils. “Follow me. I know somewhere.”

Dallas let his erection settle then led us out of the cave, and back out into the stream. He swam over to the shore and lifted himself out of the water, then turned around and helped me out.
“There’s a place up here,” Dallas said. He looked at the hill that had tall trees and grass and plants growing, then grabbed my hand so we could run. In a matter of minutes, Dallas had me at the top of the hill and kissing on my neck.

He cupped my ass, and ran his hand between my legs. I’d never imagined having sex outside, but with Dallas, I knew that it would be fun. He gently pushed me onto the ground then laid on top of me. Dallas grinded his hard on into me, putting his hand on the side of my neck to hold me still as he sucked and nipped on my racing pulse.
“Ahhh, babe… Ohh,” I panted, locking my legs on his back.

Dallas pulled back a bit and, with the gentlest touch, he unhooked my bra and pushed it off my shoulders to let my bobbs spill out. He didn’t pay much attention to my breasts before moving down my stomach to give my Maxi open mouthed kisses. He used his tongue to trace a pattern around my navel, with my hands on either side of his head and my hips grinding on his mouth.

One thing I’d never seen on Dallas before last week was his tattoo. Not his Maxi, but when he was 18, he got a tattoo of a horseshoe behind his left ear. Dallas usually cloaked it so no one saw, but he must’ve forgotten that day. And hell, I liked a guy with ink.

I lifted my ass a bit, and Dallas eased my shorts down my legs then threw them to the side. My already soaking wet pussy was heated and leaking with my juices for him; Dallas teased by rubbing me through my panties.
“Mmm,” I quietly panted, biting my lip and tilting my head back.

He dug his fingers into me a bit, and I almost freaked from how good it felt. A good two minutes into doing that, Dallas eased my panties to the side and played with my clit, lightly tapping and rubbing me. He snatched my panties down in one grab, then rubbed his thumb over my damp folds. I was gonna say something, all until he was pushing his finger a few centimeters into my me and wiggled around.

My mouth was open, but there was no sound. Dallas started massaging my tit in one hand, while he teased me with the other. As he grazed and maneuvered around all my damp pussy and aching flesh I went a little crazy; I arched my back high and moaned his name aloud. His fingertips forced into my pussy, but Dallas would pull back out then rub my thighs. He worked my boob in circles, pinching and playing with my nipples every few seconds or so. Dallas waited… he paused… stopped moving. Then it happened.

His finger pushed all the way into me, and I gasped at the sudden feeling, and he squeezed my chest again. Dallas had his middle finger pumping into me, to make me feel just right and just turned on. But, his hand was massaging me like never before; with a strong grip and his finger toying with my nipple. Dallas added another finger, then that was all I needed to start moaning and screaming again.
“Aghhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhh!”

If someone heard us, it was highly unlikely that they’d find us, because the place was completely concealed by trees. Dallas let out a moan with me when my pussy contracted, and he added another finger. Damn. His hand was vigorously squeezing and touching my breast, and honestly, I needed to touch myself too. I moved my hand down to my clit, and I rubbed myself harder as his fingers rapidly pumped into me. To have Dallas fingering me…. massaging my breasts…. and making me feel so, empowered. Dallas always touched me how he wanted, but he knew what made me hot (I mean, he did take my virginity and he taught me what he liked). As his fingers curled inside of me, I was moaning and exploring my body just as he was.

I placed my hand atop his, and squeezed and caressed my breasts. And hell, this felt good! Especially how Dallas was touching me. While he touched me, Dallas kissed on my stomach and played with my Maxi; his tongue trailed up the ink and to the curve of my breasts. He teased by lightly kissing on my areola, then moving back down.
“Dallas,” I half-panted, half-laughed.

He didn’t answer or react. Dallas pulled his fingers from inside of me and I opened my mouth to protest, but Dallas started kissing my inner thighs. He got closer and closer to my awaiting sex, but Dallas was trying his hardest not to touch, shit, he was teasing too much! And it felt kinda good…. I put my hands in his almost-white hair and forced him closer to my pussy. Dallas reached under me then pinched my outer thigh to make me stop.
“Mmm, please,” I begged. Dallas continued his torturous kisses on my legs. All while this torture was going on, Dallas’ cock was probably aching him to be freed; he’d been hard for a while. With a quick swoop of my leg, I pinned Dallas onto his back and bent down to his waist. Pushing my hair to the side so he could have a better view, I undid his jeans (being careful not to hurt the vital parts of his anatomy) and released the prize I’d been waiting for.

I kept my eyes locked on his as I took a long, teasing lick at his shaft. Dallas tossed his head back then let out a groan; I was getting him riled up… His eyes drew back to mine and I teased the tip with a big kiss. Okay, I knew Dallas hated teasing, and I deliberately looked at him with a sexy gleam in my eyes, and kept him waiting for me to suck him dry. He balled a fist in my hair as I swirled my tongue down his length. I was getting tired of the teasing as much as he, so I wrapped my hand around his thick cock and took him into my mouth. Dallas caressed my hair, and I could feel his body detense.

I used my tongue to lick the underside while my lips devoured more and more of him, all while pumping my fist after my mouth. I started to bob my head, and Dallas moaned to imply his satisfaction.
“Stop,” he firmly said. I wasn’t expecting that, but I lifted my eyes to his and sucked more.

Dallas tightened his grip in my hair then pulled me away from his cock. Fuck. I climbed up his body, straddled his hips and looked into his flaming blue eyes. As I sank down onto his hard shaft, we both let out different curse words, and I planted my hands flat on his chest. My hips slowly rocked on him, but Dallas was thinking something different; he grabbed my hips and starting ramming into me.
“Ughhhh, Dallas! Fuck, I’m cumming!”

Wow, was I that easy with him? Well, Dallas did get me close when he fingered me, and that blowjob had me on edge.

As my orgasm hit, I didn’t want to sound like I was dying, so I clamped my hand down over my mouth to stifle my reaction as the world kaleidoscoped into brilliant color in every direction. Dallas grabbed my hands and I had to scream out. He must’ve been getting close because Dallas slammed into me harder. So hard that I had to grip the grass beneath us to keep from falling. I scoochied a bit higher, so Dallas started licking and playing with my boobs.

Dallas used his teeth to lightly nibble on me, and his tongue to trace my areola. My hair was falling over my arm, but Dallas’ tongue was killing me; rolling and teasing and flicking my nipple.
His hands firmly squeezed my midriff as he moaned out his orgasm. And I was reaching another. In less than three seconds, I was yelling his name all while announcing my climax, and his cum shot high inside of my womb.

My chest was flat against his; I could barely breathe as I rode wave after wave of passion and lust and relaxation running out of my body. He caught his breath and said, “That’s another thing off my bucket list: have an amazing orgasm outside.”

I hit his chest before saying, “Shush. Hurry, we need to go and get our other stuff.”

I craned my neck, then reached over Dallas’ waist and grabbed my panties. He was trying not to stare while I slid them on, but it was kinda obvious to see his green eyes cutting into my body.
“Dallas, are you staring?” I said over my shoulder.

“Just a little, but, it’s no big deal.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

I quickly stepped into my shorts and pulled on my bra then turned around to him. He finished pulling his jeans back on then jerked his head toward the trees. Dallas led the way back down the hill, keeping his fingers interlock with mine. We stopped at the end of the grassy area.
“Walk or swim?” Dallas asked.

“Swim.” If anything, I was not going to walk over taking a nice dip.

“Since you say so…” Dallas pushed me into the cold water (it felt especially cold since I was raw from the sex).

I clenched my teeth then let out a hiss. “Get in, I can’t take all the suffering,” I said.

Dallas took his sweet time getting back into the water, obviously attempting to make me suffer even more. After he was in, I quickly dove under then swam the other way with him behind me. In five short minutes, we were where we first came in, and I could see our loose clothing articles. Dallas tossed my shirt to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I yanked it down over my head. We stepped into our shoes and shook our wet bodies (I was more like a cat; Dallas was a dog).

“Come on.” He jerked his hand out to me and I proceeded by wrapping my arm under his. Dallas smelt good. Really good. And his hair was still wet from the water, and it made him look younger. No matter how sexy and mountainous Dallas was, he always reminded me of a little kid; he just had this little spark. Especially that dimple in his right cheek; it made his smile brighter and younger. As we walked, he started a conversation:
“What are you doing later?”

I thought for a second. “Nothing really, probably watch a movie.”

“Hm. Okay,” Dallas flatly said. (If someone asks a question like that, shouldn’t they offer to hang out?) I was thinking about my question when Dallas asked, “Do you want to come over?”

“I’d love to.” I grinned but he just rolled his eyes. “When did you ever become so generous?”

Dallas gave my butt a hard smack (he was really an ass guy). He broke from my embrace, then turned around to me and walked backwards.
“I’ve been generous all my life. I just don’t need any help,” Dallas smirked.

“Oh, please. You’re as generous as a rock,” I laughed, trying to throw him off—which I did.

“A rock? How don’t you know that rocks are really nice, they just don’t like you?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly. We don’t know if you’re actually nice, we just know that you’re a smartass.”

Dallas rolled his eyes and we continued walking.
====
Tao ran her cold fingers through my hair. “What the hell?!” I whispered.
“It was messed up,” she mouthed.

It was Monday, and we were sitting in Riate, listening to Brice talk about someone’s mom. The classrooms were all designed like the ones in college: a bunch of stairs, a gigantic-ass row of seats. And, we always sat in the last row back. Tao kicked her feet onto the desk and I gave her a sharp look; she pulled them down.

After Riate, the rest of the day zoomed by, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the library with all five of my books open on the table. In Spirit, I was reading about how it’s almost like a natural high when I cast a circle. Air was telling me about the power to “mist” myself—when I think about being invisible, and I pretty much become invisible. The thing that shocked me the most was what the back said:

Any and all of the Elements together will give one eternal powers…. Tusnced.

It said it was in another book! I trotted off to the front desk then smiled at Zara.
“Yes, darling?” she nonchalantly said. Her nose was in another book.

“Okay, uhm, I need a book. And, I think it is called Tusnced, for all of the powers,” I beamed. Another power would be so cool.

“Oh!” Zara tossed her book to the side and stood up. “Follow me, I’ll show you.” She waved a hand out and I followed her to the back room.

Bookshelves was all I saw. Dizam. I knew there were more books, but gosh! And Zara had read every single one—cover to cover! She walked me to a far bookshelf then sauntered down the narrow aisle. Zara stopped in front of frivehugic-thick books and seized them from the shelf.

“Tusnced, Reaxced, Quacvced, Fzaesced and Lopced. I highly suggest you finish these soon, they’ll be much help to you. I know you’re a bit troubled with non-existent powers, but, they’ll always come back. Here,” she smiled.

I thought I was holding a live human. “Thank you,” I weakly smiled. “Now, I’m gonna leave before I die of muscle strain.”

Zara chuckled as I quickly left the back room. Kicking the door closed behind me, I headed back to my work area, and I saw Dad down the bookshelf aisle. He was searching for something particular. I sat the books down then ran down to him.
“Hi.” I smiled.

Dad glanced at me. “Hello, Eris. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be finishing homework—”

“Finished. Now I’m studying.”

“Oh, ok. Well, you’re a bookworm, so, what are you studying? It has to be something interesting,” Dad smiled. His green eyes sparkled at me.

“My powers. Ya remember how Tao and I cast the circles? Well, I added Spirit, and, now I’m curious and reading the books Zara gave me. Oh, there’s another power that has to do with them, but that comes when I’m older.”

Dad nodded as he grabbed a book. “Hmph, that’s good.” He grinned at me. “Did you tell Nolan happy birthday?”

“32 and counting, though he looks 18,” I winked up at Dad.

“Eris, you must be attracted to older men.”

My eyes got wide, but Dad kept his gaze light-hearted, and I could see he was trying to hide a smile. “Dad! Not appropriate,” I scoffed, playfully punching his arm.

“You’re right, that wasn’t nice. Well, do you remember my 22-year rule?” he asked.

“OhmyGod, Dad. Please stop.” I cradled my face in my hands. I took a deep breath then answered, “No babies, or cutting my hair until I’m 22.”

Dad patted my shoulder. “Bingo. Now, I have to go and meet with a Prof. Bye, kiddo.” He kissed my cheek and left.

Damn, I really hated his rules. No, let me reword that: that rule got annoying. Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna have any baby-Daddy-drama for sure, I did not want that type of life. And, I liked my hair like this. Thinking about how I’d appear with short hair, I walked back to my table and got back to the books. Hell, these four new books would take twice as long to read; I was estimating a mere 2,000 pages—long-ass pages–full of Riate terms. But, it still had some english. Twenty or so minutes into reading Reaxced, my phone buzzed loudly on the glass table.
Dallas: Where r u?

I snatched up my phone and replied.

Me: Not with u.
Dallas: Answr me
Me: Library
Dallas: good. I’ll b there

(Sigh) And, here comes Dallas. I replied then sat my phone back onto the table, continuing on my page. A few minutes later, there was a hand covering my eyes and a sexy humming over my head.
“Dallas…” I irritably said.

“Hello,” he replied, bending down and kissing my lips.

Dallas released me then went to the chair diagonally from me. I gave a fake smile and continued reading.
“May I ask what you’re reading?” he asked.

“No,” I flatly replied.

“That’s cool.” Dallas swiped a book from the table and started reading. “Why—”

“Ya know,” I interrupted, “for a man who doesn’t go to school, you sure as hell like to come to the library… and annoy me.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Eris. You make me proud, but, I wanted to know why you’re reading these. These have nothing to do with your strength.”

“Katniss, I didn’t ask for your input.”

“No, I was an archer before Katniss made it cool. But, would that make you my Peeta?”

“Yeah, I’m the one who choked you,” I grumbled.

Dallas bit his lip and shut up. But, he started humming soon after… his leg was going a million miles… and he was talking a lot… and his energy was through the roof…
“Are you okay?” I asked.

His blue eyes shot up. “Yeah, I’m just bored,” Dallas sighed.

“Well, go home and play with the sisters.”

“Govea got back late last night, and, Hannah and Harley don’t like me.” He laughed at himself.

“Oh, sorry. Well—” I sat up straight and put the book back on the table—“you could help me with these books. And, I think you should get an idea to cast your own circle soon.”

“Hell no, Eris. What do I need to cast circle for?”

“Uhm, for a lot of shit. You could rid yourself of smartass, you could be more connected to Archery, or, you could even get Hannah and Harley to be your friends!”

Dallas crossed over to my seat and switched places with me. He sat me in his lap then wrapped his arm around my backside. “Okay,” Dallas sighed. “Read, I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you! And, I’ll go get a book for you,” I squealed, hopping out of his lap and running back to the front desk.

Zara looked up at me as I asked for the book. She handed me a thick book called Lyacve, then I hurried back to Dallas. He had his face in my book, with his forearms resting on his knees. Dallas glanced up. “Got it?”

“Yup, but take it before I die,” I said, passing the large tome to him.

Dallas read a few pages then his eyes got wide as he looked me dead in the eye. “Did you know that I could bless a bow? I did not know that!”

“See? Perks of having an amazing Eris as your girlfriend.” I put my hands beneath my chin and sweetly smiled.

Dallas stuck his tongue out then continued reading.

Two hours later, we were still in the library, reading and noting some enthralling stuff in our books. Hell, I didn’t know that Dallas could read so fast; he made me feel slow. He had two of his own Archery books on the table, and I had mine on my side. I checked my watch: 7:32, so I had a bit of time before curfew. The good thing was that the library wasn’t all that crowded, and I liked the quiet air—except for Zara ruffling around papers a bookshelf behind us. Wait, what?
“Zara?” I called out.

“I’m just checking,” she called back.

“No, we’re not making out,” Dallas added, smiling at me.

I bit my lip then curled up with my book. Honestly, I had no idea that Dallas liked reading; he barely talked while he was focused on the text. Directly at 8:00, we closed our books at the same time.
“Don’t copy me,” I smirked, setting the book on the table.

“I’ll try to more often. So, did you eat?” he asked.

“No. Are you asking to buy me food?” I grabbed my chest and made my mouth a perfect o. “Nooooooo.”

Dallas mimicked me in his cute way. “Yes.”

I smiled then nodded. “I’d love to eat with you. Are you gonna take them books home?”

“Those, proper grammar.” Dallas made a face. “Yeah, come on.”

“Yeah isn’t a word. It’s yes.”

He curled his lip as we gathered our stuff. I had my cross-over bag with me, so I stuffed my books into it and Dallas carried his under his arm. (We would come off as a nerdy couple.) We said goodbye to Zara, but she was in the back room. Her head popped out.
“Bye, you two. Keep those if you need,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” Dallas replied, stepping through the door with me. We went to the cafe, grabbed some late dinner and talked for a bit before it was 9pm. Dallas walked me back to the dorms, then stopped to sit me down.
“I have to go somewhere soon,” he gently said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Louisiana. My cousin wants to see me, and, hunting. So, I just wanted to tell you before Wednesday—when I leave.”

I rolled my lips in and out. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you when you get back, ” I looked into his brown eyes.

“Yeah—Wait!” Dallas’ outburst scared me a bit. “Go upstairs, change, grab whatever, you’re staying at my place.”

“O-okay, but you didn’t have to scream.” I flicked his head and Dallas smiled. “Give me 10 minutes, and I swear I’ll be back.”

Dallas stood up. “Even better, I’ll head down for you. Hurry up.” He walked the other way and I darted inside.

Five minutes was all I was giving myself to change, grab clothes for tomorrow morning, and put my stuff away. Tao was in her bed, listening to Kenny and on her cellphone. She went bug-eyed when I started removing my clothes and running around.
“What are you doing?”

“Dallas,” I yelled from the closet.

Tao snickered. “Okay. And, don’t be late in the morning or anything. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”

“Got it. Do you have my Domo Kun hoodie?” (We were geeks.)

Tao tossed it from under her bed. I had on a pair of Nike track shorts, with a black tanktop and my hoodie zipped over it, and I had managed to tie my hair into a messy knot. Hell, it was nighttime, it was time to get lazy and not care. Anyway, I grabbed my bag and waved to Tao.
“Have fun.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

I quickly shut the door then sprinted down the hallway. Sneaking out was fairly easy, few to none of the Professors walked around campus at night, and the dorms were close enough to stay hidden in the shadows. But, the only thing stopping me were the Sons of Erebus. I guess Brice and Lena had called them in for something; which meant I couldn’t pass by the mansion (though the mansion was 6 miles out from any other building. But the Sons knew how to cover ground). Lucky me, I had a shortcut through Ria. 200—there was a tree that was struck by lightning a few years back, and the split bark leaned closer toward the apartments. So I ran through the tall oaks until I saw it, then threw my bag over.

Hopping through the tree was easy—not cutting my leg wasn’t.
“Shit!”

Ugh, it really sucked being such a klutz. Anywho, I snatched up my bag then ran to the apartment building. (Aya had told me about the tree.) Knocking on Dallas’ door, I heard something. From next door…. I was about to step over to Bear’s door but Dallas yanked me into the foyer.
“Agh!” I unattractively exclaimed.

“Shush!” Dallas hissed.

I shut up and waited… He roughly pulled me into the bedroom then told me to sit still. I placed my bag on the hook. Dallas reached behind the bed and pushed it to the side a bit.
“Come here. Silently,” he whispered.

I went there. Silently.

He was pressed against my back as we listened through the wall.
“Maybe it was—”

“Shut up! You’re an immature idiot, and you treat everything like a game! You and your brother have no respect for yourselves nor others, and it is very stressing to have one eye on two 21 year-old kids, and the other on others!”

That. Was. Harsh. The first voice had been Bear, and the second to interrupt him was Lena. At least I knew she wasn’t meeting with the Sons.

“Okay,” this was Bull. “Lena, can we please talk to our—”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t care for Chryseis, nor you two. Since when is it rational to eliminate two dragons? Or six gargoyles? It is quite a shame that I can’t come back to campus with a good report; there will always be a set of Twins to piss me off. I hope that we’ll not have this problem again, because there will be extreme consequences.” She slammed a door and departed. (Is this her way of a grand homecoming?)

Two seconds later, Dallas’ front door opened and in came a storm. Bull and Bear weren’t fazed by it, but they weren’t quiet about it, either.
“Bullshit,” Bear grumbled.

“For once in my life, I want to rip someone’s throat out and stomp on them to death,” Bull added.

Dallas stood up. “What does she think you did?”

“2 dragons—”

“—6 gargoyles—”

“—and, stole a sword from Professor Hyllus.”

I barely listened after that. Two dragons, six gargoyles, and even stole something? Hey, Bear might be evil, but he and his brother would never think to do something like that. This was utter and complete bullshit. So much bullshit that I couldn’t even imagine how Chryseis would take it—she’d probably yell or stab them. (Kidding!) Did Brice know about this? Is that why he asked me for Bear late last week? And, when dragons & gargoyles are killed, or when something is stolen, the Professors and Warriors stop at nothing to find out who did it. Damn. Just to think, Lena hasn’t blamed it on anyone except Dallas and the Twins—could there be a reason? Come to think of it, the last time something like this happened, it was a stupid Sio (Junior) who did it. But, she and Brice found out that the girl didn’t know she’d killed the dragon, so they forgave her. It sure as hell wasn’t the same for Dallas or the Twins—Lena just jumped to some silly conclusion to make it them. I mean, I get that they’re older, but, really? And, Lena has been trying to rip my throat out for dating Dallas, and it’s not like I did anything! Right? And, Brice was never the one to alert them! Cruel. That bitch was just cruel. I knew that it wasn’t a coincidence anymore, but Lena was trying to do this. Oh, and why not have it happen when Eris’s best friend loses her powers and they have to cast a circle so their brains don’t explode? WELL, HELL!

“Eris.” I looked up to Bull’s sweet smile. “Two things: do you want me to fix your legs, and, you do know we can hear everything you just thought?”

I nodded and made a face before coming to the edge of the bed. Bull waved his hand over my leg, and once again, I had the warm feeling of doves fluttering around in my stomach. He pulled back and I was fixed up.
“Thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, Domo,” Bull solemnly said.

“Don’t call me Domo, Domo.”

“Don’t you mean homo??” he replied.

“Derogatory term,” I chuckled, following them out of the bedroom.

“Look,” Bear sighed, “Bitch Monster Lena is trying to chew our asses out, especially me. So, Eris, can you use that little, Air power you have to kill her?”

We all sat on the couch and the chairs.

“No,” I answered. “One, I don’t have my powers back. Two, that would only be possible if I was in a circle, then I could help. Three, ask your mom what she thinks. Mothers always have the best perspective—mostly. But, ask her if she thinks you did it. If she says something like, ‘That’s not the point, my point is…,’ then don’t let her talk.”

“And, ask other Professors. They know more than us, so, Lena probably has some secret committee to hate on y’all,” Dallas added.

Bull nodded. “You’re right. Plus, the Sons of Alke, and the Sons of Erebus have been around lately–and they are so hot–so, maybe those dragons and gargoyles being killed is an even bigger deal.”

“I guess.” Bear stood up after his brother. “Eris, get to school on time, we have to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, brother,” I giggled, cuddling up on Dallas’ side.

“And you—” Bull directed his eyes to Dallas “—don’t sleep in. We have to do a bit more tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Dallas said, wrapping his arm around me.

The Twins exited the door then softly pulled it closed. Dallas let out a deep breath.
“Do you think she has a legitimate reason?” I blurted.

“Of course not. Nor does she have the right to say something like that,” he replied. I cupped the side of his neck and Dallas put his hand on my lower back. We sat for a while, then he carried me to the bedroom and tossed me into the bed. Before I could even pull the covers back, Harley and Hannah swopped into the room, with their impressive wings keeping them aloft.
“You two, out,” Dallas barked at them.

Hannah landed on the dresser and cawed at him, Harley got in the chair.

“Xan hsuvo liud nuuw,” Dallas firmly repeated.

They finally got the message then flew out the window and to wherever. Dallas shut the window and looked over at me. I yanked off my Domo hoodie then tossed it to the chair.
“Cute,” he said as he crawled under the covers with me.

“Uhm, shouldn’t you get into your pajamas?” I asked.

“It’s naked or everything, there’s no in between.”

“We can do naked.”

Dallas lightly hit me with a pillow.”Get to sleep before I suffocate you with this,” he joked.

I grabbed another pillow and hit him even harder, but Dallas put his hand on my arm. He pulled me into his tight embrace, hugging me down against the pillow.
“Dallas! I’m gonna die,” I giggled.

“Don’t die, go to bed,” Dallas responded. He pushed into me from behind and laid on his back. I stayed on my stomach, cradling the pillow to my chest.
“Goodnight, Eris.”

“I love you.”

I’m pretty sure that I went to bed before him, because I was out in two seconds.
====
Sahmi was talking about our powers and bodies as we got older. He asked a question,
“What are the three main body types?”

No one raised their hand. Wait… For real?! I raised my hand and Sahmi directed his gaze to me.
“Ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph,” I answered.

“Good. Wanna describe the differences?” Sahmi gave me a secret wink.

“Well, Ectomorphs are lanky, not a lot of body fat, and lean muscles. Mesomorph is medium, ya know, tall and athletic. And, Endomorph is kinda bulky, curvy or even just rounder.”

Most of Rian kids had been in Rianate all their lives, and even the smallest things were so easy to forget, since there were different ways to live here. But, hell, I had almost forgotten them, so, I couldn’t really talk.

Sahmi nodded. “So, you should be able to tell what type you are, all of our bodies are pretty much done growing. And…”

“How did you know that?” Tao whispered to me.

I turned to my left and met her icy eyes. “Magic.” She flipped me off and we continued listening to Sahmi.

After Riate and lunch, then came Art—and it seemed like Verc was in a good mood. But, we honestly never knew with her. She assigned us a project: an abstract painting, using only the colors yellow and blue. With a partner.

Tao spilled some blue paint into our little jar, while I mixed the yellow into hers. We were mixing and talking and preparing to paint when Verc announced something.
“This is a challenge for anyone who wants it: use wax on the canvas. See how that works.”

Wax? Oh! Once, I melted crayons on the lamp at home and the wax got everywhere, but it still came out pretty! I leaned over to Tao.
“Hey, crayons,” I whispered.

“Crayons? Hun, we’re not five,” she quietly chuckled.

“The wax. We can ask Verc for a candle or blow dryer.”

Tao stopped and thought… Her face was priceless. “Yes! Come on, let’s ask.”

We hurried over to Verc’s desk then smiled (we had to be suck-ups for the moment). She looked up with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, girls?”

“Okay, two things: do you have crayons and, a candle or blow dryer?” Tao asked.

“Yes. Is that gonna be your wax?”

“Mmhmm, blue and yellow crayons,” I added.

She stood up. Verc led us to one of the six closets lined on the back wall, and opened the door. Whoa. Who knew there were so many crayon colors?!

Tao chose three dark blues, and four bright yellows; I grabbed two light blues and a golden yellow. Verc shut the door then pointed to another one.
“There are candles, but no blow dryers,” she said.

“Thank you,” we smiled.

I told Tao to get situated at the canvas, and I was to grab the candles. Two people means two candles. Whoa again. In rainbow order, Verc had over 30 candles on the six shelves, and they ranged from short and stubby to talk and skinny. The skinny blue one caught my eye, so I reached in and grabbed it. There was also a skinny yellow one. (Way to follow through with the color.)

I walked back to Tao and nodded. Before Verc had announced the wax, we had smudged blue and yellow shades onto the canvas to rid of any white spots. And Tao had lined the peeled crayons on the top of the canvas, so when the wax melted, it dripped down over the paint.
“Okay.” I smiled then lit the candles. “You’re any color you want.”

“Thanks,” Tao said as she grabbed the blue candle. We barely even had to touch the flame to the crayons for them to start melting blue and yellow wax.

Art was really good (we weren’t done with our wax painting), and Math was just the same. After Math, Dallas texted me to come to his place so we could hang out once more before he left. Alright. I skipped Affinity Hour (like I had been doing for a month) then walked down to Ria. 24.

I walked in through Dallas’ door and heard how annoyed he was.
“Harley, I will be happy to deep fry you,” Dallas groaned.

Harley “yelled” back at him.

“I’m older! What are you gonna do about it, run off to Hannah?!”

Caaaaaaaghhw.

“It’s not gonna be funny when you’re on a plate… And all of your precious little feathers are plucked off from your body… And some weirdo in Kansas wants to eat you for dinner!”

I was standing in the doorway of the bow room, listening and watching them argue. Harley was trying to touch the bow Dallas was holding, but Dallas kept swatting his talon. He literally looked like a little kid trying to touch the water with his toe, but he didn’t know if it was warm or cold.
“Stop it, Harley!” Dallas exclaimed.

Caweeeeeagh.

“You eat vulture vomit!”

Cagghhhhhhh.

Harley flew up and practically screamed at Dallas. They reminded me of dysfunctional brothers: always arguing, hate each other, hurt each other, but they did everything together. Dallas put the bow back, Harley mimicked him by moving his gigantic wings out. Dallas turned around and waved at me, Harley turned his neck and lifted a wing at me.
“Vulture vomit?” I grimaced.

“Yeah, it is disgusting.” Dallas kissed my nose. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, kinda mad that you have to leave.”

“Sorry. But, a week without Harley is heaven.”

Harley made a grunting sound then flew out of the room. He really hated Dallas.
“So,” I said, “what are you doing?”

“Choosing one to take,” he answered.

“Hmm. Pick a color: red or black?”

Dallas thought for a second. “Red.”

I grabbed his bow with red bolts. Dallas made a “duh” sound as he took them.
“Thanks, that was easier than I thought,” he smiled.

“No need to thank me. Just worship me,” I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Dallas gave me a big kiss and squeezed my ass in his large hand. I broke away.
“Have you seen my hoodie? I think I left it,” I said.

“I dunno.” Dallas pulled away and walked out to the living room. “With Harley and Hannah, anything they find is automatically theirs. So, don’t count on finding it.”

“Eh, whatever. Can I—”

“Eris, you’ve asked enough questions. Shzhh.” Dallas waved his hands in my face.

“Well, gosh. Anywho, I was asking to ask you a question. So, may I ask another question so I can stop asking questions and we’ll be question-free?”

“What do you possibly want,” he flatly sighed.

I smiled. “Wait, so I can ask the question?”

“Eris!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But, I was just asking if you seriously want to cast a circle. Ya know, I’ve got this shit down. And, I think I’m casting one next month, or, whenever I have some free-time.”

“Well,” Dallas said, “that’s great, but, I don’t need one. Why can’t I just watch you?” He grinned, looking like a handsome little boy.

“No, Dallas. Do you know how awkward it is to have some idiot staring you down while you’re trying to concentrate?”

“Just block me out.”

I looked him dead in the eyes, and Dallas stared back harder. He hit my arm and I blinked.
“Damnit!”

“Haha,” Dallas smirked, poking my shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” I frowned.

He kissed my forehead then sat back on the couch. I wrapped my arms around his neck as Dallas cut on the tv; he rested a warm hand on my thigh. As I adjusted my body on the cushion, I reached behind my back and grabbed the pen that was secured on my belt loop. I had been drawing on my hand in Math, but I forgot to take the pen off. I hovered over my hand and finished the doodle I had started. I covered the entire back of my hand with a detailed drawing of a sacred heart; it was a design I’d been sketching since I was eleven. It had flames dancing up the back, a crown of thorns on top of it, a spray of roses along the bottom, and in the center I drew a scrolling banner with my name in the center. Dallas peaked over and seized my hand.
“Wow, that’s good. Nice,” he frowned in approval.

I bit my lip. “That’s not even half of what I started in class.” I rolled my sleeve up and Dallas chuckled.

“You should be a tattoo artist; you have a lot of creativity buried inside of you.”

“That’s actually my dream job.” I smiled and Dallas stroked my bare thigh. His hand went higher up, up until I gasped at his warm touch by my covered sex.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop here,” Dallas chuckled. He brought his hand back down and I sighed. That sigh made the rest of my body realize how tired I was, so I sprawled out on his chest and Dallas put his hand on my hip.

“Good afternoon,” I yawned.

“Good afternoon, Avatar,” he laughed.

My eyes shut on instinct, and I only paid attention to the beat of Dallas’ heart. Bum… bum… bum… bum… zzzzzzz.
====
END OF PART 5
I ended the story with Eris sleeping because I didn’t want to blow your brains out with boring shit. This part isn’t all that important, and I didn’t just want to bullshit it. Part 6 will definitely be up tomorrow night.

-L11

---

The clock was ticking at the same beat of my fingers tapping on the desktop. Tick, tock, Eris. Tip, Tap, Eris. You’re gonna ace this test—hopefully. And right now was one of those times that I knew I was gonna massacre. Easy stuff, we learned the majority of it that month, so, it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Okay,” Nanaya announced. “You all may begin.”

Eris Faye was the first thing I scribbled down. Tao tapped me on my hand and I looked over to see her icy blue eyes all confused. I wrote down the answer to number one; she hit herself on the forehead, mouthing, “Duh.” For a five-page test, it was fairly easy to finish in less than 90 minutes and have on Nanaya’s desk.

After History was over, Tao raced down with me to Body Science so we could ask Sahmi about our next quiz. When we got in, Sahmi was sitting on top of the desk, with a pencil floating in front of his face. His affinity was Gravity, and it was amazing to watch him.
“Sahmi?” Tao blurted.

“My ears are open and my eyes are directed on yours,” Sahmi replied, looking directly into Tao’s eyes and snatching the pencil out of the air.

“U-uh—”

“She wants to know about our upcoming quiz,” I snickered, finishing her beautiful sentence.

Sahmi made a face. “Sa quf pors whi acneme duso?” Translated to English, that meant: “And, what would you like to know about the quiz?”

“What type of questions there are,” Tao answered. “I don’t like multiple choice because it messes me up, and writing is a big no, my nails are mucho too importanto!”

He chuckled at her “accurate” Spanish. “Well, Tao, see me after class, we’ll figure something out.” Sahmi winked at her just before the bell rang.

We darted to our seats then pulled out the assignment Sahmi wanted us to do in our textbooks. Following Body Science, I went to Riate and Brice called me over to his desk… What did I do?!

“Hello,” I said, showing the sign of respect.

“Hello, Eris. Uhm, have you seen Caine Prath lately?” he asked.

“Yeah, just yesterday. Why?”

“Lena needs him. Thank you, Goddess, merry part.”

(I loved how they referred to us as Gods and Goddess.) I ran off to my seat, then Tao walked in with a late pass to Brice. She joined me in the back and put her feet up on the desk.

As class progressed, I had a thought of Aya and did I ever give her that necklace. It was late January, and Tao and I had moved on with crying ourselves to sleep about Aya; we knew better than being little brats about it. Two weeks ago, we spread her ashes in my backyard, so we always knew where she was and how we could be connected to her. That was one thing I was happy about, others, not so much.

My Elements still weren’t working, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as last month. Turns out, the Elements made my reflexes stronger (I have no idea why) and it made me super alert during class. So, that was good. And, Dallas had been so good to me, like always. After Riate, we had lunch (walking tacos) then headed off to Art, and I was super happy because Verc was in a good mood. She had us create an abstract painting of what our affinity was in our own eyes; not what it was meant to be or what other people thought.

So, I splattered red and blue and white and green paint on the canvas, then used my pinky finger to swirl it around. The colors actually looked great, the white made everything a tad lighter. Just to be more creative, I even threw in some teal to describe myself. Verc had been circulating the room, but when she saw me, she stopped.
“Amazing work, Eris,” Verc grinned.

“You like it? I’m rethinking the red now that I added the teal… ” I softly replied, frowning at the bright red paint.

“No! That’s beautiful, and if anything were to change, I’d say to throw you in the paint.”

Verc patted my lower back then went on to do her business, leaving me to observe my work. The bell rang and Tao dragged me off to Math. Affinity Hour came quicker than I expected, so I decided to go and visit Govea.

I crept into the steel door and took in the aroma of the dragons. (They all smelt like vanilla mixed with cinnamon—very pleasing.) Down a few rows, I heard Govea’s deep laughter and a dragon cutely roaring back at him. I called out his name, then Govea peeked his head out from the last row of enclosures.
“Just the person.” He smiled. “Wanna meet the babies?”

“Babies?” I started walking closer and Govea went back to his place. My heart exploded when I saw the two baby dragons in the basket.

The first was a pretty pink, with an orange streak of scales going down her back. The other was a deep blue with a yellow streak of scales down her back; they were adorable.
“Meet Ripley and Riva: our new baby girls,” Govea smiled.

I gasped at Ripley’s cute little sneeze. (Ripley was blue; Riva was pink.) “I want to eat them,” I chuckled.

“Well, don’t. They need more than 17 hours to live, Eris.”

“I’ll save you guys for later.”

Ripley let out another sneeze and her scales poofed out; her sister used her small wing to gently pat her back.
“They’re a bit sick. Mama had a bad cold during birth,” Govea said, observing their tiny bodies.

“It’s an inherited trait, huh?” I smiled at Riva and she made an impressive attempt to do the same.

A good minute into talking with Govea, I heard another voice from behind me. “Well, what do ya know, Eris is in here with Govea.”

I turned around and saw Dallas approaching from a row behind. He gave me a soft kiss then looked at the babies.
“You’re cuter than I expected,” Dallas smiled, waving at them.

Riva sneezed and she shot up into the air—literally. She was flapping her little wings while she tried not to fall and break her face. Govea was a few feet away, so Dallas quickly grabbed her and she let out a baby sigh of relief.
“They are very sick,” Govea muttered, with his hand rubbing his chin in thought. “Say, Dallas, would you mind watching them while I’m gone? I have to make a quick stop in Ohio, but I don’t want them to be overwhelmed alone.”

“Uh, I guess. Harley can’t be around them, can he?” Dallas replied.

“I’m afraid not. Have he and Hannah stay at your Yard, they are far too rough to be around newborns.”

Dallas nodded and Govea thanked him again. Huh, Dallas with babies?! This. Will. Be. Hilarious. I picked up Ripley then waved to Govea. “I’ll make sure Dallas doesn’t kill them.”

“Me?! Please, I’m amazing with animals,” he scoffed.

“Says the one who kills them for a hobby,” Govea muttered under his breath. I laughed but Dallas made a boyish grunt as Govea shooed us off and we headed to the apartments.

As we walked, Riva kept trying to fly up, and Dallas had to hold her tight, but she sneezed every two seconds, so his grip was pretty pointless. He opened the door to his place, and we set the sisters free.

I plopped down on the couch, Dallas came over and laid across my lap.
“How was your day?” he asked as he cut the TV on.

“Fine.” I ran my fingers through his light hair. “How was yours?”

“You could say… terrible.”

“Why?”

Dallas’ violet eyes lifted to mine. “Because I say so. And, I got bit by Harley and Hannah. They just don’t like me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Would it make you feel better if I cooked for you?” I waggled my eyebrows down at him.

“Hmm, what will you make me?”

“I’m not telling you. Shut up and sit down.”

“Eris, that’s not very nice. You should apologize.” Dallas made his puppy-dog eyes.

“Dallas,” I mocked, “that’s not very nice. I think you should apologize.” I stuck my tongue out before running back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, I was still in the kitchen, listening to music and making this sandwich for him. Something was moving behind me… I whipped my head around and saw Dallas hop onto the counter then smile. I yanked my headphones out and laughed. “What the shit?! Go back in there.”

“Unless you want to be burned, turn around and make me a sandwich,” Dallas said, being his traditional smartass.

I stuck my hand in the drawer then pulled out something. “I know you didn’t just tell me to make you a sandwich,” I growled as I pointed the blade at him.

Dallas shrugged. “Okay, make me a grilled cheese sandwich.”

I dropped the knife back into the drawer then finished the sandwich. Cutting off the stove, I passed Dallas the plate and he took a gigantic bite.
His eyes got wide. “Awh, bitchin! There’s pepperoni!”

“Really?! I didn’t know.” I made a fake gasp but Dallas just nodded.

“Pepperoni.” He took another bite and rolled his eyes to the back of his head while he moaned.

“Is it that good?” I giggled and mimicked his face.

Dallas nodded. “It’s that good.”

“You’re welcome.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek then ran off to the living room to watch the game.

Dallas finished up in the kitchen, and took his medicine before coming to sit with me. He pulled my legs into his lap and grazed his fingertips over my covered skin—but it still felt like he was trying to tickle me. I wiggled from his grinp and he gave me a death stare.
“Quit moving,” Dallas huffed.

“No, you’re gonna molest me,” I giggled, tucking my knees to my chest.

“Molest you? I mean, I know that you’re into some freaky shit, but molest—”

I hurled a pillow at him and Dallas flopped back on the couch. He quickly threw the pillow back but I covered my head. Dallas yanked my leg again, then laid me on his lap and started tickling me.
“Dallas, stop! I will punch you in the throat!”

He dropped his hands and started laughing. I took advantage and pushed him back on the cushions, straddling his lean hips.
“Hey! That’s not fair,” Dallas chuckled.

“Life isn’t fair. Don’t tickle me unless you wanna wake up dead,” I growled while pinning his arms back.

“Wake up dead? How much sense does that make?”

“I dunno, do you wanna test that theory? Because I will—”

Dallas hit me with another pillow and I flipped back the other way. Damn, I never knew a pillow hurt that much! He had his turn on top then kissed my neck, but I pushed him onto his back then sat up straight. Dallas got up, then wrapped his arm around my upper back, pulling me closer to his warm body. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the smell of his yummy cologne; Dallas always smelt so fucking good. He must’ve noticed my sniffing because he pushed the side of my face.
“Hey!” I blew a strand of hair out of my face before sticking my tongue out at him.

“Don’t sniff people, you’re not a dog,” Dallas said.

I started to kiss on his neck, and Dallas sighed (I had my ways). He put his hands on my midriff, then slid his hand down to cup my ass while I grinded my hips down onto his.
“Hey,” Dallas laughed. “Don’t start something.”

I swung my legs the other way then straddled him backwards. Dallas put his face in the crook of my neck and started to lightly kiss me, with his tongue trailing up the side of my neck and to my ear. He was in love with my ears (not in the creepy way) because he loved to play with my earrings and piercings. On the left, I had an industrial piercing, a double hoop helix with tiny blue barbells, and two studs in the lobe. On the right, I had four tiny hoops in the lobe, another single helix, and a forward helix. He loved to tug and lick on them, and it made me crazy.
“Mmm,” I smiled. Dallas moved to my lobe and nibbled the pink ball I had in.

“You taste good,” he whispered. Damn, his warm breath made me moan.

“Well, I do like to taste good,” I giggled.

“Of course you love to taste good. Because I’m the only one who gets to ever taste you.”

I twisted my neck and glared at him. “Oh, really?”

“Yes really, Eris.” He gave me a small peck. I went in again and pushed Dallas back onto the soft cushions of the couch. He looked directly between my legs, obviously thinking about what was covered by my skin-tight leggings. I poked his stomach.

“Don’t look, I wore clothes for a reason,” I chuckled.

Dallas put his head back. “Meanie,” he pouted. Oh no, not the pout! Dallas made thee cutest pouty face, and thee cutest puppy eyes, and I always felt bad.

“No, Dallas! Please don’t, I’ll feel like shit!” I sighed. I put my face in my hands and Dallas started laughing.

“Alright, alright. Come on, I’ll let you leave this time since you have homework.”

I crawled out of his lap then sat up. Dallas walked me to the front door and leaned against the frame before bending down to kiss me. “I love you, don’t text me later,” he said.

I made a hurt face. “Damn. That was harsh.”

“What? I’m not gonna be up, I’m taking my ass to bed when you go.”

“Dallas, it’s only 6pm.”

“And? I slept terrible last night, so, I need to fix it by playing nocturnal.”

“Playing nocturnal? As in, sleep all day, party all night?” I laughed when he nodded.

“Yep, so, don’t text me.” Dallas wrapped me up in his thick arms. He put his hand on the base of my neck then whispered, “Next time, you won’t be leaving.”

“Oh really? And”—I pushed him away—”you won’t either, I may just tie you to the bed then molest you.”

Dallas down peered at me. “What is up with you and molesting?” he snickered.

I shrugged then hugged him around his neck and blew a kiss. “I love you.”

Behind his leg, Riva and Ripley looked at me like little kids—not really coming out, hiding behind Dallas. I waved to them then walked back to the dorms.

Right when I stepped the through the glass doors, my friends Giovanni and Ophelia stopped me.
“Hey, Eris,” Ophelia smiled. She had this bright pink, black and white hair, with dark eyes with vibrant rings of pink and white surrounding her pupils. Her affinity was Flexibility, and I liked to call her “Pretzel” because htere wasn’t a way she couldn’t turn her body.

She handed me a candle. “This is a gift from me and Gi, we wanted to say thanks for the advice.”

“Oh! Thanks! Everyone knows how I am about candles,” I giggled, observing the lavender candle. Last week, Giovanni was scared her powers were dying out because nothing was working, but I helped her locate her “inner Photography” and bring them back. But the unique thing was: Giovanni was Deaf, and Ophelia was her best friend.

Giovanni’s afifnity for Photography was astounding and she found art in everything she saw. Her dark blue eyes reflected her dark purple hair, and the ink of her Maxi swirled around her arms. She never used her disability as an excuse, and she was probably one of my closest friends!

“Thank you,” Giovanni signed, showing me the sign of respect at the end.

“You’re welcome, I gotta go. But I’m glad you got them back.” I smiled, bowed back then ran off to Tao.

Upstairs, I didn’t expect Tao to be sitting on the ground, with Mumble squawking and making a raucous. I giggled when he pecked her hand and made Tao squeal, “Ow!”

“Good job, Mumble. Keep it up,” I said.

“Ugh, hey. How was it with Dallas?”

I kicked my boots off, set the aromatic candle on the nightstand and leaned against the window.
“It was fine,” I sighed. “Hey, is Maz like, dead or something? He wasn’t in any classes, and he didn’t walk you to any Hours.” Tao rolled her eyes and clenched her fists on her knees.

“He’s being a complete asshole. His Dad took him through the portal, but I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday. And all he does is read my messages like they don’t exist,” she said. It was Thursday, so I knew Tao had to be going crazy.

I scoffed. “Well, at least you know he’s not dead. Alright, I have to change and finish my homework.” I peeled off my bottoms, tossed my shirt into the hamper then scampered along to the bathroom.

It took way longer to finish my homework, but after reading my book and playing with Mikey, I flopped down on the bed. Tao came over to me and sat on my legs, obviously prepared to ask me something.
“Yes?” I said from under my arms.

“You want a slushie? You look really tired, and, slushies work magic,” she smiled. I nodded, and Tao made me a cherry slushie.

I sipped the treat like a toddler, and Tao must’ve been happy because she made herself one–though it was just slush, no flavor. We ended up sleeping in the bed together, with our slushies on my nightstand.
====
Thank God the next day was Friday because I was mentally and physically exhausted. Seriously. On the History test, I got 100, and in Art, Verc displayed my work for an example. Wow, I really sounded like a goody-goody…. ew. After Math, I got texts on my phone from Bull.
Bull: Hey, are you done in class??
Me: Yes, why?
Bull: Come to the library.
Me: Fine.

I had already been heading toward the dorms, so I redirected and went to Ria. 57. When I opened the doors, I could see Bear and Bull talking with their mom, and obviously trying to tell her a joke. Bull saw me, then stood up and waved me over like an idiot with a grin so bright that he looked kind of like a mad man. Chryseis rolled her eyes at him when Bear gently punched her shoulder, and she punched him back even harder. She saw me then grinned.
“Hello, Eris. Merry meet,” Chryseis said.

“Hello. Uhm, what do you two want?” I asked the Twins.

They perked up and rose to their feet. “Oh! We need your help,” Bear deeply said.

“We don’t know how the Dewey Decimal System works… so can you help?” Bull gave me the biggest grin ever.

“I guess….”

“Eris, I suggest you run as far as possible; they’ll start depending on you like they’re lost puppies.” Chryseis gave them an annoyed look then smiled again before leaving.

“Ma!” Bear laughed. “That’s not nice!”

“I love you!” Bull called out.

I laughed when Chryseis turned around and gave them a playful finger.
“ What do you guys need?” I asked.

“Uhm, dragons. Particularly babies… that are sick… and shooting themselves into the air.”

“Ah, Riva and RIpley? They’re so cute! But, you left them alone with Dallas?”

Bear nodded as we crossed over to a bookshelf. “He isn’t that bad of a parent. Dallas turns on the game and they’re mesmerised.”

“Ya mean like you?” I glanced back at them as I handed them a thick book.

Bull carried the first book over to the lounge area, and I passed an even thicker one to Bear. He joined his brother in the red chairs then flipped them open.
“Goddamn!” They started coughing and waving their hands at the tons of dust from the book covers.

“Well, that was probably written in 1700 B.C.,” I sighed, kicking my feet up on the table.

Bear skimmed for a while then gasped, “I’ve found nothing!”
Bull took his turn then said, “Oh wow, there’s nothing useful in here!”

“Well, you’ve only read two pages, so, you should look a bit deeper. Pick a number, divide it by 2 or 4, then read that page.”

The Twins got their numbers then flipped through the books again. Bull found something and said, “It’s because mama had a dragon-flu!”

“And, they have terrible immune systems,” Bear mumbled, flipping through more pages as if he’d never held a book before. “This is so not English,” he chuckled.

Bear and Bull looked for a bit more then handed the books back to me like I was a servant. I looked at them as if they were crazy. “Since when am I your servant? God gave you two working legs, so use them.”

Bear made a groan and got louder while he stomped off to the bookshelf, same with Bull and his cute pout. They came back then looked at me like I was the devil.
“Problem? I’m just trying to keep you two in shape,” I deviously smiled but the Twins rolled their eyes.

“We gotta go and check on Dallas, are you coming?” Bull asked, standing up and running his fingers through his cloudy hair.

Every time I stared at his tresses, I just wondered how he made his clothes match something so bright. I was sure his hair was a brighter white than snow, and when I looked at Bear’s hair, it was darker than a summer night sky.

“Nah, I’m gonna stay here. Hey, Bear, can you go ask Zara for a book on Fire? And Earth? And Water? And Air?”

Bear turned the corner of his lip up into a sneer. “Uhm, do I look like a male stripper? Then don’t ask me to please you.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Caine.” Bull looked at him with bright grey eyes but Bear huffed air out of his nostrils.

“If you get it, I’ll buy you a smoothie,” I quickly bribed.

It took Bear about two seconds to sprint to the front desk and come back with the four books. He had an obsession with smoothies; there wasn’t anything Bear wouldn’t do for a smoothie. He gently passed them to me.
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Call me when you really need a smoothie.”

“Okay! Bye,” Bear said. He and Bull walked out of the library then went back to the apartments for Dallas.

Why did I need these books? Good question. Sometime that following week I wanted to cast a circle and “talk with” my affinity. Over a month without powers made me kinda antsy, so I made it a goal to cast a circle at least once so I didn’t freak-the-fuck-out. The books would just show me how to do it properly; no room for screwing up.

I sat the books on the table, side by side then opened the Air first. One thing from rituals I remembered was: Air, Fire, Water then Earth; call them in that order, dismiss them backwards. Since the Twins and Dallas gave me those candles, I’d been illuminating our dorm with them and concentrating on my homework (and it really worked). Casting a circle was completely different: I had to make sure I had a purified space; complete the circle; do it well; 10000000% of my attention is on the circle; have a purpose. Well, I had those answers and items. To purify the space, I could use the lavender batch Nana and Papa gave me, and weave it to make a scented braid. Completing the circle is easy: I just needed a certain amount of area with my candles in a compass organization. And, the rest was fairly easy to do or find or whatever. Studying the Riate words got very confusing, since I was used to the rituals being written in english. Some of the letters got turned over, some had extra lines, most had squiggly lines and twists, and I had to translate all of it! Well, after a difficult study, I picked up the books and crossed over to the colossal desk.

Zara was in her own little world, reading One for the Money and humming a tune.
“Zara—”

“AH!” Zara’s book flew out of her hand and she was all bug-eyed. She sighed when she realized it was me. “I’m sorry, Eris. Pardon me for startling you.”

That little scream she did made me jump. “It’s alright. And, you have a beautiful screaming voice, it is truly outstanding,” I smiled but Zara gave me a look.

She noticed the books against my chest and nodded. “Ah, casting circles, huh. Have any idea when you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, before this month is over.”

Zara nodded as she typed something into her computer, with her pink nails flying across the keyboard. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she had a cute flower crown on.
“Alright,” Zara grinned. “Feel free to keep them as long as you like, I won’t mind if they’re not returned.”

“Zara, I can’t just do something like that. That’s called stealing,” I was being serious but she laughed.

“Sweetie, it’s not considered stealing if I say you can have them. Heck, I’m the only Professor who’s read all 17,836 of these books, and, I have permission to give them to you. So, study long and hard, and have a great circle.”

She was right: her affinity (Reading, obviously) made her memorize chapters and lines from books, and it made her read twice as fast. So, if she said I could have them, there was no arguing.

I raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Zara wiggled her fingers at me and I exited the large glass doors.

Not only did I just get four gigantic books, but, I can reread and do an even better job on my circle. With my mental notes, I planned to cast the circle tomorrow, in the woods where it’s secluded and peaceful. I would make an addition to the lavender, and mix some dried eucalyptus to give it a yummy smell. The entire purpose of the circle would be to connect with my powers spiritually, more than just physically and emotionally. Oh! I had to use the candles Dallas and the Twins gave me, and I’d add another candle: the one Giovanni gave to me.

I’d use it for Spirit. I read that Spirit was an affinity, and categorized as an Element, so why not? The purple candle would be in the middle, with the other four in a perfect diamond to connect them all.

Seems like my circle was gonna be pretty darn good. While coming up the stairs in the dorms, my phone buzzed with a text from Dallas.
Dallas: what are u doing?
Me: Why?
Dallas: Answer my question, please.
Me: Going to my room. Why?

Dallas was just asking about his sweatshirt—I kinda took it last time I slept over. He wanted it back, but I wanted to keep it because it smelt like him and it was big and warm! Dallas said he’d steal it back, I highly doubted that he’d do it.

When I walked into the dorm room, Tao was coming out of the shower with a bit of cold smoke radiating from her wet body. She whirled around and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I waved and smiled back.

“What’d you do after school? I missed you last Hour,” Tao said as she searched for some clothes.

“Oh, the Twins needed me.”

“Hmm. And, what’s up with the books?” She slipped a shirt over her head and glanced at me.

I dropped the books on my desk then laid down on the bed. “Well, I’m casting a circle soon, so I just needed some review.”

“That’s awesome!” Tao clapped her hands together and gave me the happiest smile ever.

I smiled back as she stepped into a pair of gym shorts.

She sneered at her purse on the desk. “Poop. Well, I have to finish this for Kirsi”—Tao pulled a thin stack of papers out of her bag—”and I don’t feel like it.”

“Tao.” I snatched the papers from her. There were only four pages, so it shouldn’t have been that hard. “Half and half?”

“Honey, no. Thank you, I have to do this by myself, because this is stuff I don’t know. You know it, but I don’t.” Tao gently took the papers back and sashayed to her desk.

She put her iPhone on the speaker and turned on Kenny Chesney—oh God. I sat on my bed, listening to her sing along and do her homework. It was funny to watch Tao multitask, because she was super clumsy. The pen kept rolling off of the desktop, so she had to continuously bend over and pick it up. After the eighth time, Tao froze the writing utensil to the desk and continued working. (Great use of power.)

She closed her books and put her stuff away, saying, “Finished!”

“Good job, Tao Chesney,” I muttered.

“You know it. Hey, so I gotta tell you this story.”

“I’m listening…” I drew my eyes to her.

“So, one time when I was 14, there was this boy”—with Tao, there’s always a boy—”and he was real cute. And, I finally grew the tits to go over and say hi, but, I was just so nervous! I went over, he waved, and I freaked out! I accidentally froze his hand like—” Tao had her hands up, and there was a little spark of energy before the power shot out of the window, and sent a strong wind through the room. Tao got flung back onto her bed, and there was a big crackle of ice over our heads. After the ice stopped falling, I sat up and shook the tiny crystals out of my hair. Tao had not moved yet.

“Tao!” I scrambled out of bed and came over next to her, and she hugged me. “Are you okay?”

Her cold body felt even colder, and I was just scared that I would lose her. “That ain’t supposed to happen,” Tao nervously chuckled into my neck. I held her out at arm’s length then smiled.

I pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. But—” Tao flicked her hand out, with the intention of getting ice to hit the wall, but nothing happened. She tried over and over again until she was hyperventilating and frantically talking over me.

“Eris, Eris, my powers! What happened? Eris! Help, I dunno what—”

“Calm down,” I slowly and loudly said. Tao cradled her head in her hands. “Okay, we need to go and alert Brice, because that’s not normal.”

“Right,” she flatly said. Tao was stunned—in all of 14 years, she’d never lost her powers or anything. She grabbed a hoodie then stepped into her boots; I stepped into my shoes and we quickly went downstairs.

It was past curfew, but that was the least important thing right now. What was important was Tao. Some of the girls were sitting in the living room watching MTV, and one of those girls was Giovanni. I tapped her shoulder and her soft pink eyes locked on mine.
“What’s up?” she signed.

“Giovanni, we have to leave. It’s important, and we’re going to Brice. Just, don’t freak if we’re leaving after curfew,” I replied.

“Is everything okay? You look upset.” Her hands moved quickly, so I knew she wasn’t happy with what we were asking.

“Sorta. We… We’ll explain it later, but we have to go.” Tao and I bowed to her and she smiled back.

Tao and I burst out of the glass doors then hurriedly walked over to Ria. 84. (We knew we’d be in some deep shit if we were sprinting around like Usain Bolt—especially after curfew.) When we passed by the apartments, it was clear that there was a party going on, because chatter was beyond the roof. And a bunch of lights were on on the top floor. Tao grabbed my arm and said, “We might just have to run… I don’t want to take too long.”

“Eh, you’re right,” I nodded then we broke out into sprint.

By time we got there, Tao and I were both breathing a bit hard (we may or may not have run into a crazy gremlin).

We opened the doors and walked down the dark hallway to Brice’s office. From inside, we could hear Brice talking to someone—not to himself, but someone.
“Maybe you should tell that to your aunt, Karder,” he said.

Oh. He was talking to Xi and Karder—his sons. (The two men who escorted me into Rianate, and, they were the ones to take Aya’s body away.) I didn’t even figure that out until Dad told me, but, it made sense: they were a bit older than us (maybe 27-30 years old), they worked for Brice all the time, and they had Brice’s ,. (It just meant that Lena was their aunt.) And no one had seen Lena for a while, she went to Arizona for something. Anyway, Brice finished talking with them, then Xi and Karder passed us in the hall.
“Girls,” Xi asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the dorms? Curfew.”

“We need Brice, it’s far too important to wait,” Tao replied.

“Oh. Merry part,” Karder said, bowing to us. He and his brother quickly left to wherever they stayed—I think in the mansion. Tao took an intense breath, then slowly widened the heavy door…. Brice was standing with his back to us, sipping on wine from a silver goblet.

“Brice…” Tao faintly said.

He quickly turned to us with a raised eyebrow. “It is past curfew. You two shouldn’t—”

“Her powers are gone,” I blurted, inadvertently cutting him off.

His expression darkened. “What? Why has this happened? Show me, please.”

Tao started walking closer then flicked her wrist, but nothing…. nothing came out. She let out a frustrated sigh and plopped down in the leather wingback chair .
“I dunno what happened, Brice. We were in the dorm, and it didn’t work. It was like, some invisible force pushed my powers out of my body,” Tao explained, looking him dead in the eye. “The ceiling froze over, and the ice melted, crackled and fell onto us.”

“Hmm, well this is completely abnormal. Sit, Eris,” Brice said. I plopped down in the chair, Brice took his seat behind his desk and continuously stroked his bearded chin. “Now, it is completely peculiar… It’s never been that two Rio have lost their powers, and it’s never been two friends that it’s happened to.”

Tao and I shared a knowing look. She turned back to Brice then said, “What’re we going to do?”

“It’s not all that safe for us to be powerless,” I added.

He must’ve gotten an idea because his dark eyes lit up. “Well,” a smile crept onto his lips. “Asking for help always works.”

“Wha?” we dumbly huffed at once. I shook my head before saying, “Brice, what kind of help do you need? Everything is right in front of you, you practically own us.”

“Yeah, who’d be able to help?” Tao creased her brow.

“It’s not like I have an affinity for everything. Leave me, I’ll show you two tomorrow. But for now, avoid things that could harm you or your non-existent powers. After school, I think I’ll have something to help. Merry part.” He gently bowed to us, and we stood then bowed back.

Tao dragged me out of the doors and we started back to the dorms.

“Tomorrow? After school? What the shit, I lose my powers and now we’re playing tea party? Did he do this with you? How in the world are we supposed to get them back? Why did this happen? Please, tell me why. Because I don’t have an answer to any of my questions, and it’s tiring to be so overwhelmed and stressed out!” Tao frantically said, waving her cold hands around in front of her chest.

“Tao, it’s not so hard after a while. Brice knows what he’s doing, but, I’m not so sure about playing tea party either. We’ll just have to wait.” I gave her an apologetic smile; Tao rested her head on my shoulder.

We had been talking to Brice for a while, and it was nearing 1am. But, I couldn’t care less because that next day was Saturday, and, I had to make one more stop. I had decided to cast circle tomorrow night, but now that Tao’s powers were gone, we needed some extra candles. It was completely out of the norm for Rios to be out this late, and we had to go all the way over to the Rec Hall. In the Rec Hall where kids performed rituals or just hung out, there was another gigantic room—for candles. Literally hundreds of candles, row upon row upon row, just in this extra storage room. They were used for circles, or if someone wanted a candle for the night. And, the candles were based on affinity, and I knew there had to be some Ice ones in there.

I held Tao’s forearm as we entered the closed gates. The door wasn’t locked, but it was steel and it took both of us to open it. Tao shut the door after we got in, then followed me down to the room. We creaked open the next steel door and the different scents of candles hit us.
“It always smells good in here,” I grinned.

“What do we need? You have four candles for your circle,” Tao softly said as she observed the different candles.

“Yeah, those are for me, we need some for you.” I spotted the first light blue candle and made an “aha!” sound. Grabbing the first, my eyes lifted and I saw the second. Tao grabbed another, but we just had to find a fourth… Oh! (Trust me, this would be much harder if our vision wasn’t so good. There were well over a thousand candles in there.)

Tao seized the last and we quietly left the room, shutting the large door behind us. Ten minutes later, we were climbing up the stairs in the Girls’ Dorm and getting back to our room. I sat the candles on her shelf, Tao put hers next to mine. She turned to me as she stripped off her hoodie.
“So, you’re saying you’re gonna cast a circle for both of us?”

“No,” I corrected, “we’re gonna cast a circle for the both of us.”

“But, I dunno how to do that shit,” Tao sighed.

“Neither do I. Well, sorta—whatever. Tomorrow afternoon, stop at the library and read about yours, okay?”

Tao nodded as she crawled into the bed. “I’m hella tired, goodnight.”

I took off my clothes then flopped back onto the soft bedspread. Five seconds into laying down and relaxing, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Dallas: r u sleojaeping?

His typos made it clear that Dallas was shit-faced.

Me: Baby, get some sleep.
Dallas: HeAKJy nhl. paibSues wqhxat?

This was one of those times when autocorrect did not want to correct him.

Me: Dallas.

Dallas: Nothing. naijJusjnvSayingqmxks

He was drunk. Seriously.

Me: Go to bed, good night.

Dallas sent a few random letters then continued blowing me up. I didn’t bother checking my phone every time it buzzed, Dallas was just sending me random words like “hey” or “Eris” or “wake up” or “hah,” just drunk stuff. (At least I know he was at that party.) My notifications started signaling phone calls (Dallas was a drunk-caller), and they lasted about two seconds. Many phone calls and text messages later, I slowly closed my eyes and got to sleep.
====
I knew the second I should’ve woken up to check on Dallas because he interrupted my dream. I had been lying out in the sun (sunny weather is the bomb) on a big, heart-shaped floatie in the middle of a lake made of Sprite (who knows?), when all of a sudden everything disappeared and Dallas’ voice burst into my skull.
“You’re too young to sleep so late!”

God, he reminded me of my Father. My eyes fluttered open to meet Boing’s heavy glare with her fluffy tail resting on my neck. She made her annoyed squeak sound, sneezed, stood up long enough to pad around and around in circles on my chest, then she plopped down and took up the pillow space.
“You’re really no help at all,” I grumbled.

She ignored me. I only had on a polka-dot bra, and black shorts, so I was extra chilly. Fuck, I did need to go check on Dallas—he REALLY knew how to drink. I rolled my neck on my shoulders, then pushed my messy hair back and out of my eyes. Tao was curled up in a little ball, with her arm under her cheek and her face smushed into the pillow. Cutie. Mumble and Mikey were chilling on the floor, with Mumble laying on Mikey’s side and Mikey snoozing with his face in his paws.

I ran to the bathroom, took a hot shower, then quickly got dressed. If anything, leaving Dallas by himself while he was hungover was terrible. He was usually grumpy in the morning, but especially with a headache and tons of alcohol in his system. Ha, just to see him suffer…. Anyway, I grabbed my cellphone and stepped into my shoes then left the room.

Oh boy. I walked into Dallas’ place and saw the loose tee shirt on the couch. Peeking into the hallway, I saw the cracked bedroom door, and I heard Dallas shuffling the covers around. I sat my bag on the chair then slowly approached the bed. He was laying on his front, with his messy hair and his bare back to me. His Maxi looked sexy, but I wasn’t focused on that. I softly shook his shoulder.
“Dallas,” my voice barely reached a whisper. He wasn’t budging. I shook his shoulder again. “Dallas.” Nada. I put my hand on the base of his neck and got close to his ear. “DALLAS!”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Dallas popped up and threw a pillow at me.

“Ow!”

“Oh, baby.” He groaned. Dallas rubbed my cheek and said, “I’m sorry, but don’t do that.”

“It’s… fine? Jesus, boy, get up!” I poked his shoulder but Dallas didn’t smile. “When did you get home?”

“Uh…” Dallas glared at the clock on his nightstand. His normally bright blue eyes were reflecting his mood: dull and crestfallen. “2am, I think. I dunno.”

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his thighs, and his head down. I ran my fingers through his messy locks, making Dallas sigh and rest his head on my stomach.
“Maybe a shower,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Shush. I know, I’m dirty and need a shower. And, dear God, I need food! And coffee! And sleep! Ughh,” Dallas flopped back onto the bed and covered his face with a pillow. He still had on his jeans, but they were low-rise so I had a good view.

“Rebel, maybe you shouldn’t stay out so long, since you enjoy sleeping the day away.”
I called him Rebel for two reasons: it was his middle name, and Dallas read this story about a guy named Rebel who always drank. Plus, he was my little Rebel.

“Not in the mood for jokes.” His voice was muffled but I could hear him clearly.

“Okay. Well, take a shower, I’ll make you food and stuff.”

“Thanks, Avatar.” Dallas chucked the pillow at the wall, and I flinched when it landed on the hard surface with so much force. He got up then squeezed my hip. “I can’t kiss you because I have every hint of alcohol on my breath.”

I chuckled and Dallas patted my ass. He shut the bathroom door then did his business while I went to prepare him breakfast. 20 minutes later, a fresh Dallas walked into the kitchen for breakfast, coffee, and medicine. He took a sip of the coffee and made a satisfied groan. He leaned his head back to me.
“Did I ever tell you that you make caffeine taste like Jesus?”

“I’ve been told before,” I giggled, handing him the plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

“And did I ever tell you that you have just made food my new drug?”

“Nah, but you should. And, did you brush your teeth?”

Dallas nodded. “Why—” I didn’t give him time to answer before devouring his lips. Keeping my lips on his, I took the coffee from his hands, and Dallas seized my hips. He trapped me against the counter, using his tongue to explore my mouth while I inched my fingers into his sweatpants. We finally pulled away, breathing hard and Dallas had a slight smile on.

“Because I wanted to do that,” I grinned, walking to the living room.

Dallas quickly joined me and he ate his food while I searched for something to watch. He took his plate back to the kitchen then laid on the cushions with me. I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him about Tao losing her powers, Dallas wouldn’t really care.
“We probably need to check on the Twins,” he muttered.

“What? Are they shit-faced too,” I groaned, tossing my head back and closing my eyes.

“If I was that bad, they have to be drowning in a tub of beer. Come on.”

Dallas yanked me off of the couch and we quickly went to Bear’s apartment. His place was pretty neat, he just had a few misplaced items here and there (not to mention everything was dark, and, all of the curtains were closed). In the bedroom, Bear was laying on his stomach with the covers tossed to the side and his tee shirt dangling at the foot of the mattress. Dallas gave me a look then mouthed, “I’ll do it.”

I nodded. Dallas took a deep breath then crossed over to the side of the bed. He hit Bear with a pillow, he didn’t budge. Dallas tried over and over, but nothing. He rolled his eyes then grabbed two more pillows. Dallas hit Bear with so much force that I even flinched. With lightning speed, Bear hopped out of bed, shoved Dallas onto the ground and yelled, “GET OUT!”

I picked up a pillow and hit him in the stomach. Bear barely (haha) moved, but he was taken aback by the way I hit him.
“You get off your ass and get in the shower,” I huffed, giving him a death stare. “And say sorry.”

Bear sneered at me but grinned at Dallas. “Sorry, fucker. I’ll go for the nuts next time.”

“Thank you.” Dallas grinned back as he picked himself up. Bear hurried off to the shower then did his own business. Dallas looked back at me with dark green eyes and said, “You can wake up Christopher. He actually scares me a bit.”

I shrugged and we left to go and get Bull. Once again, his place was really nice, and he was in his bedroom snoozing away. The duvet was a bright blue pattern, and the gazillion of pillows were a cute shade of blue (they really contrasted with his white hair). I hit him with a pillow, nothing happened. After the tenth time, Bull seemed as if he was dead. I gave Dallas a helpless look but he mouthed, “Super hard.” I heeved a great sigh then saw Bear appear in the doorway. He asked me for the pillow but I scrunched up my nose to make him back down.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Bull. I held the pillow out then, I rammed it down onto his back.
“WHAT THE FUCK!”

I think that did it. Bull sat up then saw it was me. “You little—”

I ran over to Dallas and Bear and stood behind them, looking over their shoulders at the hungover victim. Bull hopped out of the bed then gave me a death stare.

Bull twisted up his mouth. “Someone make me breakfast, I need to shower.”

“Anything else for our queen?” I said under my breath.

“I’d like your head on a stick. Your queen shall be clean.” Bull slammed the bathroom door and did his own little business.

By time Bear and Bull were done with breakfast and going about their day, Dallas and I were sitting in the bedroom and talking.
“…and it was really nasty,” I giggled. I just told him a story about the time my friend had cat pee in a cup and poured it in my backpack. (We were 15, don’t judge.)

He tossed his head back and started laughing. I pulled him down into a kiss, but I didn’t expect Dallas to stick his tongue into my mouth.
“Baby!” I giggled.

“I want to show you my love,” he laughed into my mouth.

I pushed him off. “Show your love in another way, but don’t choke me with your organ.”

“What the….” Dallas sighed and shook his head. “Choke you with my organ?”

“Tongue”—I stuck my tongue out—“organ.”

“Eris”—Dallas put his finger on my forehead—“weirdo.”

I blew him a kiss and Dallas kissed me for real. After the eternal kiss, he pulled back then said, “I have to go soon. And, I don’t want to start something we can’t finish.”

“Poop! Where do you have to go?” I replied`.

“Uh, Riva and Ripley, duh. And, I have to check on Hannah and Harley. Oh, and I have to go practice. And I have to—”

“That’s amazing, but I don’t care.”

Dallas pushed the side of my face as he got off of the bed. He reached into his closet, grabbed something then sighed. Dallas pulled out a deep blue shirt and grinned. “You might wanna close your eyes, I’m getting naked.”

“Oh, let me just open my eyes,” I laughed, turning to his body.

Dallas stripped his white shirt off then changed into the blue one. He tossed it over his shoulder, and into the hamper.
“Awh,” I pouted. “That wasn’t naked.”

“Close enough. Come on, I’m gonna walk ya back,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. Dallas wrapped his arm around my waist then nuzzled my hair.

“Ew,” I pushed him away but I was laughing. Dallas snapped his teeth at me. “Sorry, I don’t like people touching my hair.”

He looked down. Dallas hooked my neck in his elbow and (annoyingly) ruffled my hair like a relative would do to me. I had to reach down and grab his groin for him to stop.
“HEY!” Dallas laughed.

“Don’t touch.” I jumped on his back and started ruffling his hair. “Unless you want me to cut this off.”

“It’s beautiful, so don’t touch me!”

I dug my fingers into his thick hair then messed it up, but Dallas kept moving his head from my grip. We were walking down the hallway, so we probably looked very stupid. Dallas pulled me back to my feet and hooked his hand behind my neck to pull me close.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” he grinned.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I replied, running ahead to race him.

Dallas broke out running after me, and we made it to the dorms much faster than expected. I reached up then ran my fingers through his hair once more.
“Thank you for saving me from a terrible hangover,” Dallas chuckled.

“Anytime. And, thank you for touching my hair like a creep,” I smiled.

He kissed the top of my head and sent me on my way. Now, this circle: it’d be fairly easy to cast Tao—since she had one affinity to control. But me, that would be a bit different because I had never done all four. Hmm.

Heading into the kitchen for my brown pop, questions swarmed around in my head, but, I wasn’t that freaked out about the circle. Hell, I’d seen someone cast one, and call their powers, but any other time, it hadn’t really crossed my mind. I was still gonna do it. And, Tao had to call her own. She texted me earlier and said that she read some stuff in the library, so she somewhat knew what we were doing.

I walked upstairs to our room then saw Tao walking down from the other hall.
“Hey,” she called out.

“Hey.” I waited a few seconds for her to catch up. She looped her arm with mine and we continued walking. “So are you excited to cast this circle?”

“Actually, I am very excited. I told my mom, and, since she’s such a softy, she freaked out. But I told her that I was okay, and we were doing the circle tonight.”

“Oh, good. Well, it’s 6 right now… So, be ready at 9pm, and we’ll have enough time.”

Tao nodded and opened the door for us. I went straight to my nightstand then started searching around for my lavender batch that Nana gave me, and I needed the eucalyptus. They both smelled really good. And together, that’s like Jesus touched my nostrils. I grabbed my four candles, and Tao handed me hers.
“Thank you.” I put the candles together on my desk with a silver lighter.

Oh! I almost forgot about the candle Giovanni gave me! While I was getting the stuff together, Tao had taken the time to braid the lavender and eucalyptus together in one long strand.
“Heh, thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome. This smells amazing,” Tao replied.

“Imagine what it smells like burning.”

Tao smiled and handed me the braid. By time it was 9pm, we were gently putting the stuff in one of Tao’s bags so we could leave for Ria. 200.

When we found the circle to stop at, I looked at Tao and reached into the blue bag. I sat the candles and lavender against a tree then Tao drew a circle in the air with her cold hand.
“This is the circle,” she explained.

“Alright. So, these four trees”— I pointed to the four gigantic oaks—”will keep the barrier.”

“Kay.”

Tao and I decided for her to cast first, so we grabbed all the blue candles and put them North, East, South and West to create a perfect cross. I lit the lavender, then motioned for her to step into the middle of the circle. Clearing my throat, I stepped into the little opening and began:
“I call for Ice to join our circle, and give back the gelid powers to Tao…” I rotated around the entire circle, waving the burning strand through the air. Tao sat in the middle of the circle, with her eyes locked on all of my movements.

I lit the first candle and continued, “Ice for integrity, Tao doesn’t even have to try.”

Second candle. “To be creative, and not to lose our spark, Ice for Imagination.”

The third one seemed to glow brighter. “Ice for Importance.”

When I lit the fourth, I could feel it. The short jolt of energy that ran down my spine. But, it wasn’t a regular energy—it was chilly and made goosebumps appear on my skin. “Ice for Individuality because no one’s the same. I call Ice to this circle!”

I quickly left the circle and closed it back up with a rock. (For a beginner, I said that beautifully.) All of the candles’ lights whipped up, and grew in size until Tao looked like she had four lamps around her. There was an energy. A light blue, glowing energy that ran candle to candle and cast a light upon Tao’s body. She was pretty much glowing herself. But, Tao had her eyes closed, and it was obvious that she was taking deep breaths, to inhale the faint scent of lavender, and to be more connected to her powers. We read in the book that using a part of the affinity was important to the circle, so, I clutched my water bottle, and screwed open the top. There was just ice in here. I grabbed all of the little cubes, then threw them into the circle with Tao and I was shocked. Shocked by how the ice just attracted to her, like Tao had magnets in her hands. She clutched them in her palms, and I saw the glow from her back. Her Maxi. Tao’s black top gave me a good view of her upper back and the light blue icicles glew a dark blue, and I knew it was from the Ice. Damn, she looked so calm and relaxed.

The candles whipped out, and everything was still. No glowing Maxi. No energy connecting the candles. A relaxed Tao. The air was very chilly, and I had an idea why. She opened her eyes, then grinned at me.
“That was great. But it’s your turn.”

I weakly smiled and nodded.

Tao stood up, then fixed her long hair—the Ice and wind had made it a bit messy. She picked up the blue candles, and I placed the Elements in their spaces. Air was West, Fire was South, Water was East, and Earth was North. I had the purple candle in my hand as I stepped into the middle of the circle. Spirit was the center. Tao cleared her throat then smiled at me.
“Sit down, and relax,” she said.

I plopped down Indian-style then put the Spirit candle in between my legs. Here we go…. Tao relit the braid, then waved around the air.
“I call the Five Elements to join our circle, and bestow the importance of our powers upon Eris,” she gently said as she circled the space.

Tao finished purifying then walked to the Air candle.
“I call Air to this circle. We breathe it in our first breaths, so it is only right that it be the first Element called. Come to her, Air!”

Breezy.

Second candle was Fire.
“Fire warms us with its passionate flame. I call Fire to this circle!”

Hot.

She sauntered around to Water then grinned.
“Water is a perfect balance to flame, just as Eris is a perfect balance to soccer. I call Water to this circle!”

Cool.

Earth would be quadruple thee best.
“Earth supports us and nurtures us. As the fourth Element, I call Earth to this circle!”

Grass.

Quickly moving, Tao crossed over to me and nodded.
“It’s within all of us, important and soothing. I call Spirit to this circle.”

Relaxation.

I felt a jolt of energy run down my body, and I shut my eyes. The water…. air…. fire…. spirit…. earth.

My ears were filled with the crashing of waves against the beach shore.
It felt as if I was laying in the grass, with flowers and tall trees around me.
The warmth of a fireplace on a cold Christmas night made me happy and bubbly inside.
Wind was whipping through my hair, like the strongest tornado ever was approaching.
Mmm…. I was relaxed, and it felt like nothing mattered except for being calm, and alone.

Waves of power and relaxation rushed through my body, making me feel so…. Like everything was in place. I could feel the heat, the warmth of a blazing fire. I could feel the cool breeze softly blowing in the spring. I could feel water running down my body in the shower. And I could definitely feel cool, calm and collected emotions filling my brain. Inhale, exhale. In and out. Take and give. There was a fluttery feeling in my lower stomach. My Maxi was glowing. Gently placing my hand on my navel, I could feel how warm, and how powerful my Maxi was. Damn.

Before I could move again, my eyes shot open and I saw the energy. Whoa…. Red, blue, white, purple, and a green energy twirled together between the candles. It kinda startled me by how close the energy was to touching my body, there was no telling what could happen. Tao had tossed five sheer scarves into the circle: one to represent each Element. But, even touching the scarves, it made me radiant to feel the power charging through my body…. like my old self was back…. and it felt as if I had never lost the power. Though I’d been in the circle for a minor time, it was like an eternal event, that nothing compared to.

The energy slowly dispersed… leaving me alone in the circle. The candles whipped out, and we were left with soft scents of nature, and the melted wax. Tao glared at me.
“That felt like heaven,” I breathed.

“See? I know a thing or two about casting circles,” she giggled as she cleared up our supplies.

I stood up, grabbed my candles and broke the annulus we created with large rocks. The circle was cleared and gone, just the scent of lavender and eucalyptus remained in the silent air. Tao snatched her bag up then we headed back to the dorms. I felt relaxed. Calm. And I hadn’t felt this way in a looooooong time; my powers had been gone.
“Thanks,” Tao abruptly said. “That was completely amazing.”

“You’re very welcome. Yeah, I didn’t know what Spirit would feel like until then,” I responded.

“Hmph, I felt a bit of Water while I was in the circle…. Is that normal?” She gave me a confused look.

“Well, it is Ice and ice is just frozen, expanded water.” I paused. “It’s not your strength, but Water still exists within it.”

Tao nodded. It was 10:30pm, and I had to make a stop at the library, so I alerted Tao to proceed back to the dorms. When I entered the library, Zara waved me over to the front desk.
“Did you finish the book?” she smiled as bright as the sun.

“Zara, that book is well over one-thousand pages, I can’t finish four in one night,” I lightly chuckled. Zara was known for finishing books in less than two days.

“Well, you can always try. Haha, what are you looking for?”

“Uhm—”

I was cut off by a hand wrapping around my midriff. It was Dallas, and he winked down at me to show he meant no harm.
“Hi,” he sweetly smiled.

I shook it off then turned back to Zara. “Spirit, please. Tao and I cast our circles.”

Zara’s eyes went wide. “Really?! That’s great!”

Dallas hooked his finger in the waistband of my jeans and kept me against his body while Zara searched for the book. She handed me a book thicker than I could fully grasp.
“Keep this, too. Was all well?” Zara curiously asked.

“Great”— I shoved the book at Dallas. “I called Spirit, too, so it was way different! Tao said she felt Water when hers was called.”

“Ah, that’s good! Have you any idea when you’ll cast another?”

“No, but, I really wanna shoot for next month. But, I’m not so sure on a date for next month.”

Zara gave a single nod. She looked past me then said, “Dallas, have you cast your circle yet?”

“No, what am I gonna cast for?” Dallas raised an eyebrow.

“Mister, you could cast for anything. It may not be as important to your strength, but it’d be a good idea. Yellow candles would suit you.”

Dallas curled his lip up. “I don’t like yellow.”

“Why not purple?” Zara gave a smirk but Dallas rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Dallas. Purple would be nice.”

“Purple’s for girls,” he grumbled. “And, I’m not that feminine.”

“To me you are,” I smiled.

Zara waved us off while she laughed. “Get out of here. Eris, keep that if you need.”

We walked away and Dallas followed me out of the library. While walking, he switched hands and palmed my backside with his strong grip.
“Hey!”

Dallas gave me an innocent look. “Ass is class, hun.”

I rolled my eyes when he tried to kiss my cheek. Dallas hooked the side of my neck and planted a big kiss on my temple. I made an unattractive groan.
“You love me,” he whispered against my skin.

“Who says? I could be playing,” I grumbled, playfully pushing him off.

“Oh, don’t fib to yourself. So, how did the circle go?”

“AMAZING! I almost freaked out when it almost touched me!”

Dallas frowned. “What is the ‘it’?”

“Energy,” I smartly answered.

“Ah, that. How’d it go for Tao?”

“Great, she really liked it. And, to purify, we used the lavender Nana gave me for Christmas, and found some eucalyptus.”

“Huh, cool. Do me a favor: cast me a circle with red candles and tell me how it goes.” Dallas flashed his half smile.

“No, baby.” I pushed his arm. “You have to do it for yourself, tell me how it goes. I’ll even help you.” I smiled up into his regular blue eyes.

“But that’s too much wooooork.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and we continued walking. Dallas stopped in front of the glass doors of the dorms, then looked down at me. He handed the book over.
“Damn,” I huffed as it dropped into my arms.

“Do you want me to carry it up? You’re kinda weak, Avatar.” Avatar was his nickname for me because I controlled the Elements, but Air was my favorite. Dallas stuck his hands out for the book and I just kicked his leg. “Ow, what the sh—”

“Hah. What’s that you said to me that one day… Don’t be a smartass, it triggers others to be an even smarter ass. Now I’m gonna say something: Don’t be a smartass, it triggers people to kick you!”

Dallas rolled his eyes before claiming my mouth. He cupped my neck as he bent down… pulling me closer to his delicious lips. We were standing by one of the picnic tables, so I put the book down and reacted with my arms around his shoulders.
“God, I want sex,” Dallas moaned.

“Not appropriate,” I giggled, gently nibbling his lower lip.

Dallas stuck his tongue into my mouth and I let out a quiet moan. He cupped my ass, then effortly lifted me off of the ground. I could tell he had been drinking cold water because his tongue felt like ice in my mouth, but it was the type of feeling that made my tummy flutter, and my heart become more of his. I wrapped my legs around his waist and Dallas slid his hands under my shirt, cupping my breasts and working his hand under my bra. He managed to squeeze my nipples, which made me wetter and my moaning get louder.
“Come back with me,” Dallas said on my lips. He teased his tongue on the hoops in my ear, and I groaned his name in pleasure.

“I’m sorry. But, I gotta go,” I smiled.

Dallas kissed my ear and whispered, “Fine, I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye,” I smiled. He let me go and I walked up to my dorm.

Our hallway was pretty quiet, and Tao was laying down in her bed with a Sprite in her left hand. She looked up then nodded.
“Hey,” I wiggled my fingers.

“Hey. What’d you get at the library?” she asked. I handed her the Spirit book. “Oh, makes sense.”

“Yeah. What really makes sense is some sleep.”

I quickly showered, then came back out to lay down. Boing jumped onto my pillow and laid on my face. Her white fur got into my teal hair, and she decided to rest her tail on my neck.
“Can you move?” My voice was muffled by her body.

Eiee-ei-eeeie.

“Is that a no?”

Ei-ei-eeeeeeeeie!

Okay, that’s a no. By time Boing got back to bed, I was gasping for air and trying not to choke on her butt. I moved her to the side a bit then took the desired breaths. From across the room, Tao had her head propped up on her wrist while she watched me suffer.
“Damn,” I breathed.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re dying,” she giggled.

“Maybe I am.”

Tao laid down and Boing scooched her tush onto my shoulder. It took me a while to get over the fact that Boing had her ass all on me, but I eventually blacked out and fell into the world of my dreams.
====
Another great sleep, but terrible awakening. I was in the climax of my dream when my phone invaded. I was swimming in the middle of the ocean, with sharks circling around me, and I was following after a mermaid who looked exactly like my mother. The faint, muffled, distorted sound of the annoying tri-tone from my cellphone made me start to choke on water, and that’s when I woke up. I grabbed the device and saw who it was.
“Hey, Dad,” I sighed.

“Hello, are you still sleeping? You’re too young to sleep so late,” he replied. (Sounded a lot like my last dream.)

“Eh, yeah, what desires my attention?”

Before Dad could answer, I realized that Tao was on the phone with her mom. Lying down in the same position as me, and answering the same damn questions.
“Tao should be talking with Sumiko, but we need you two down at Ria. 42, we have something,” he explained.

“Okay.” We said our goodbyes then hung up.

I made my way blurrily to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water, trying to shock some awake into me. Tao walked in, then did the exact same thing. We brushed our teeth together, brushed our hair in the mirror and freshened up to leave.

Tao pulled on some low-rise jeans, with a crocheted top and her boots. I put on my shorts, a Nike tee shirt and wrapped my hair in a high ponytail. We quickly left the dorms and headed to our parents at the high school. Entering the front foyer, I could see Dad descending the right staircase from the upper-Professor floor.
“Hi, girls.” He bent down and kissed us both. “Upstairs.”

“Are we gonna be like, temporary Professors?” Tao muttered.

“Or guinea pigs,” I added.

“That second one,” Dad smiled. He opened the big glass door and we ducked under his arm into the hallway. Dad led us down the never-ending hallway, all the way to an open door where Chryseis, Sumiko and Professor Nolan were talking.
“Hello,” Tao and I half-stated, half-asked.

“Merry meet.” Chryseis bowed to us. “If you’re wondering why I’m here: it’s because I was the one to ask Nolan.”

“Oh, Chryseis, taking all the credit,” Sumiko laughed and winked at her.

“Hello, girls.” Professor Nolan crossed to us and shook our hands. He had dull yellow hair, with the brightest yellow eyes like a dragon. With an affinity for Reptiles, he had a Maxi on his neck that reminded me of scales, and I loved looking at it. “I know about your powers, and I think I can help,” he said.

Tao raised an eyebrow but I spoke first: “The thought ritual?”

“That’s it. It’s like a polygraph test, but, not all answers have to be verbal. I’ll be able to see your thoughts and words, it’s pretty fun to watch and fun to experience.” Nolan gave us a light smile. For a guy almost 6”10, he was like a cuddly giant. (Rian men were fucking tall, I had no idea why it was necessary.)

“Oh. Okay,” Tao and I dumbly said.

Nolan looked at our parents and Chryseis. “Er vew jiu zau quero?” They nodded and Nolan turned back to us. “Follow me.”

I directed Tao to the door and we followed Nolan out of the Professor hall. Very tall was all I could say to describe him. Anyway, he took us downstairs and through the halls toward the extra courtyard back there. Nolan pushed open the steel doors, and we were welcomed to an open concrete Yard—much bigger than our regular ones. I knew this place was used for rituals and whatnot.

“Sit on two sides,” Nolan said.

Tao went right; I went left (dominant hand). Nolan uncloaked a small table and I could see the stuff on the top: a candle, a knife and… I had no idea what that mason jar was for.

“Okay, girls. I wanna explain a few things before y’all freak. First, the candle is so I can recite the ritual, second, the knife is for blood, third, the jar is literally for catching important thoughts—” hold up, did he say catch our thoughts?! Nolan turned to me.

“Yes, I did, Eris.” (I knew the Professors could technically read minds—one of the reasons I was such a bad liar to Dad.) “Now, I’m gonna need a strand of hair from you two. Or, are your precious locks too important?” he grinned.

Tao plucked a small hair from her hair, I did the same. Nolan brought them to the table and smiled. “Now comes the blood. Arms or hands.”

I stuck my hand out and he pricked my finger; it stung, but the blade felt kinda good. Nolan dabbed the scarlet line with his own finger, then smeared it on his wrist. And the exact same with Tao. He stood behind the table once more, then began:
“Ner awq loh b’pina, sir fsut ca xixi munn,” Nalan pricked his own finger with the blade. “Dfe de dugn d’sance. Ca huj ecza Perlo!” Wow. I shivered and that was the last thing I remembered.

In what felt like two minutes later, I sat back up and looked directly at Tao. Before I could say anything, Nolan spoke, “Good to have you back, don’t say a word. Just think.”

I didn’t say anything. Tao looked at me and my mouth dropped…. her thoughts were floating around her in purple, blue and white.

Eris? Do you feel weird? Nolan, why does my head hurt? Damn, my head feels like shit. I need to talk.

She was looking back at me with the same expression. So I had thoughts, too?! Damn! Nolan cleared his throat and sat down between us.
“Girls, I want you to say one word a piece. See what happens,” he sighed.

“Hi,” Tao quickly replied. The word came out in a shimmery, sapphire blue fog.

“Eris.” The same fog appeared in front of me! Haha, this was fun!

“Okay, say four bad words. Cursing or a negative word,” Nolan said.

“Bad. Fuck. Lonely. Upset.” My words came out in a dull, dark silver fog.

“Good. Tao, say four things that are either happy or uplifting.” Nolan turned his eyes to her.

“Flowers. Ice. Dogs. Rainbows,” Tao’s words came out in a cute, fairy purple color. She smiled.

Nolan stood up then went back behind the table. “Since your powers are gone, we’re gonna use this to assist on getting them back. So, say or think anything you want, but, it has to be related to your power or any theories y’all have about them being missing. Get it, got it, good?”

“Get it, got it, good,” we repeated, admiring the blue fog. Nolan quickly sat the jar between our bodies then stepped back. I started thinking about how my powers got taken away, or how Tao’s did.

Two hours later, I was sitting in my bed and listening to music when there was a knock on the door.
“What?” I called out.

There were five rhythmic knocks—that was Giovanni. I quickly got up then swung the door open.
“Hey,” she signed.

I was shocked to see Dallas behind her.
“He wants to hang.” Giovanni exaggerated the signs then gave a sexual gesture.

“Oh so inappropriate,” I laughed.

She looked up at Dallas and he bowed to her.
“Thanks,” he said.

“Anytime.” (Giovanni could talk, but she liked to sign more.)

Dallas let her pass by then stepped into my dorm; he let out a wolf whistle. I hit his back.
“Grow up,” I grumbled.

“Damn, girl.” He pointed at the soccer posters above my bed, and the Fire/Water/Earth/Air ones by my closet. Dallas was gazing at the Hope Solo poster when Boing nuzzled his leg, making him jump back with a startled expression.

“Awh, you’re such a girl.” I bent down and picked up Boing. “It’s called a chinchilla: slightly bigger than a ground squirrel, and, her name is Boing. Hold her.” Dallas gently took Boing and she started exploring his neck area.

I had to change, so I yanked off my top and ran to the closet. Over the rows and rows of clothes, I just picked a basic white tee shirt then tossed my hair behind my shoulders. Dallas was sitting on my bed, laughing and playing with Boing while she scurried over the bedspread.
“Okay, we can go,” I announced.

Dallas looked at me. “Can we stay here?”

“Baby, you know you’re gonna be in a dorm… With 17 and 18 year old girls… Who like dicks… And you’re old…”

“I am not old, does it look like I have wrinkles? And, okay,” he chuckled. “But, can we bring this along?” Dallas waved at Boing like she was some grand prize.

I nodded and he sprang up with Boing in his left hand. Dallas waved to Mikey and Mumble then shut the door behind us. As we walked downstairs, I told him about Nolan performing the ritual on Tao and I.
“Hey, I want something to drink,” I said.

Dallas redirected me to the kitchen and I went to the fourth fridge. I could tell some of the girls were watching us talk; I felt their intense glares.
“Are you ready?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah, sure.” I took one last gulp of my brown pop then kicked the can into the recycling bin.

Dallas led me out of the glass doors and the cool breeze hit me. Very refreshing cool breeze. Since our pets could find us easily If they ever ran off, Dallas sat Boing onto the ground and she walked the other way as Dallas headed toward Ria. 200.
“So,” I asked, “what are we gonna be doing?”

“A walk,” Dallas replied.

“A walk? Since when do we go walking together? Is that like, some date?”

“No. It’s called I’m tired of not seeing the sun, so a walk.” He huffed out of his nose at me.

“Oh. Okay, walks are fun.” I smiled and tried to kiss his temple but Dallas pulled back.

He walked ahead then started running through the trees. I weaved around, and I saw him maneuver through the trees on my left.
“Dallas, it’s not funny,” I laughed.

“Then why are you laughing?” His sexy voice came from behind.

I stood still as he approached. “Because I can laugh at myself.”

Dallas snaked his arms around my midriff and pulled me back to him. He bent my head back, then kissed me good and hard.
“Hola,” I smiled up.

“Hey, Avatar. Come on,” he said as he let go of me. Dallas slipped his finger into the waistband of my shorts and kept me close while we walked further into the trees. Ten minutes into the walk, I slipped my hand under the hem of his tee shirt, and caressed his warm skin while Dallas attempted to push me off.
“Stop,” he grumbled.

“Why?” I purred, moving lower to his groin.

Dallas eventually pushed me off, so I walked with a big pout on, trying to make him give in.

He gave me a gigantic kiss when I noticed we had made it to the stream. The stream had two sides, and we were on the other side from where Aya started coughing and dying. But, this side had a massive hill behind us, and I could easily jump into the water. I was skipping rocks when I felt his hands on my shirt.
“Ah, what’re you—” the shirt came over my head. Dallas shoved my back.

“Get in,” he said.

“Baby, I don’t want to—”

He picked me up and I kicked my feet into the air, making my sandals fall to the grass. “Dallas! Stoppp!” Dallas brought me into the water and I gasped at how cold it felt on my warmed skin.

He put me on my feet but I was waving my arms around like an idiot at how gelid the water was. Dallas had his shirt off, and I was trying not to stare as I warmed up to the water.
“Have you ever been in here before?” Dallas asked, lightly pushing water on my stomach.

“No, but I’m guessing you have,” I replied.

Dallas nodded. “Come here, I wanna show you something.”

He took a few steps away into the water, but I hesitated before following. Dallas led me further downstream, until the water was just at the curve of my covered breasts. He went over to the wall then turned around to me.
“How long can you hold your breath?”

“1 minute, 23 seconds,” I replied. (Last time my friends took me swimming, we had a contest… And I was on the swim team for six years.)

“Okay. I’m gonna grab your hand, and you have to come under with me,” he explained. I nodded and Dallas grabbed my hand under the water. He dove under and I swam after him into a small, opening under the big rock wall. He popped up, so did I.

“Where the hell are we?” I panted, slicking my hair behind my shoulders.

“No one except for me and the Twins know this is here,” Dallas gently said.

The water came up to my shoulders, but Dallas had a bit of an advantage. He leaned back against the wall then looked at me. The space was big enough for probably two more people to fit in, the rock ceiling was about 7 feet up, and the water rushed into the walls.
“How do you know about this?” I asked.

“I used to come here all the time, when I still lived with the bitches,” he mumbled, looking around the water.

“Ya mean, Dayton and Dakota?”

He nodded. “I don’t come a lot, but, I make sure no one else finds it.” He smiled at me. “I guess you’re another person to know.”

“I guess,” I smiled back.

He crossed over to me and pushed me back against the cold stone, brushing his lips over mine and pressing flat against my body. (Thank God I was tall because I would probably be struggling to keep my head above the rushing water.) Dallas peered down at my bra; his lip curled into a smile.
“I’ll save you for later,” he said.

“Later? Psh,” I pushed the side of his face.

Dallas kissed my chest then whispered, “You taste good.”

I couldn’t say anything. His finger was trailing down my stomach, stopping to trace my Maxi and play with my navel. Dallas put his hand on my nape then started to kiss my neck, using his tongue to tease my skin.
“Baby… Mmm,” I moaned, running my fingers through his hair.

From the water, I could really feel how hard Dallas was—and how his dick was pushing into my lower stomach. I reached down, then softly massaged him through the fabric of his shorts. Before I could even wiggle into his boxers, Dallas stopped me.
“W-wait,” he said. I looked into his eyes (which were dark brown at the moment), and saw the lust in his soft pupils. “Follow me. I know somewhere.”

Dallas let his erection settle then led us out of the cave, and back out into the stream. He swam over to the shore and lifted himself out of the water, then turned around and helped me out.
“There’s a place up here,” Dallas said. He looked at the hill that had tall trees and grass and plants growing, then grabbed my hand so we could run. In a matter of minutes, Dallas had me at the top of the hill and kissing on my neck.

He cupped my ass, and ran his hand between my legs. I’d never imagined having sex outside, but with Dallas, I knew that it would be fun. He gently pushed me onto the ground then laid on top of me. Dallas grinded his hard on into me, putting his hand on the side of my neck to hold me still as he sucked and nipped on my racing pulse.
“Ahhh, babe… Ohh,” I panted, locking my legs on his back.

Dallas pulled back a bit and, with the gentlest touch, he unhooked my bra and pushed it off my shoulders to let my bobbs spill out. He didn’t pay much attention to my breasts before moving down my stomach to give my Maxi open mouthed kisses. He used his tongue to trace a pattern around my navel, with my hands on either side of his head and my hips grinding on his mouth.

One thing I’d never seen on Dallas before last week was his tattoo. Not his Maxi, but when he was 18, he got a tattoo of a horseshoe behind his left ear. Dallas usually cloaked it so no one saw, but he must’ve forgotten that day. And hell, I liked a guy with ink.

I lifted my ass a bit, and Dallas eased my shorts down my legs then threw them to the side. My already soaking wet pussy was heated and leaking with my juices for him; Dallas teased by rubbing me through my panties.
“Mmm,” I quietly panted, biting my lip and tilting my head back.

He dug his fingers into me a bit, and I almost freaked from how good it felt. A good two minutes into doing that, Dallas eased my panties to the side and played with my clit, lightly tapping and rubbing me. He snatched my panties down in one grab, then rubbed his thumb over my damp folds. I was gonna say something, all until he was pushing his finger a few centimeters into my me and wiggled around.

My mouth was open, but there was no sound. Dallas started massaging my tit in one hand, while he teased me with the other. As he grazed and maneuvered around all my damp pussy and aching flesh I went a little crazy; I arched my back high and moaned his name aloud. His fingertips forced into my pussy, but Dallas would pull back out then rub my thighs. He worked my boob in circles, pinching and playing with my nipples every few seconds or so. Dallas waited… he paused… stopped moving. Then it happened.

His finger pushed all the way into me, and I gasped at the sudden feeling, and he squeezed my chest again. Dallas had his middle finger pumping into me, to make me feel just right and just turned on. But, his hand was massaging me like never before; with a strong grip and his finger toying with my nipple. Dallas added another finger, then that was all I needed to start moaning and screaming again.
“Aghhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhh!”

If someone heard us, it was highly unlikely that they’d find us, because the place was completely concealed by trees. Dallas let out a moan with me when my pussy contracted, and he added another finger. Damn. His hand was vigorously squeezing and touching my breast, and honestly, I needed to touch myself too. I moved my hand down to my clit, and I rubbed myself harder as his fingers rapidly pumped into me. To have Dallas fingering me…. massaging my breasts…. and making me feel so, empowered. Dallas always touched me how he wanted, but he knew what made me hot (I mean, he did take my virginity and he taught me what he liked). As his fingers curled inside of me, I was moaning and exploring my body just as he was.

I placed my hand atop his, and squeezed and caressed my breasts. And hell, this felt good! Especially how Dallas was touching me. While he touched me, Dallas kissed on my stomach and played with my Maxi; his tongue trailed up the ink and to the curve of my breasts. He teased by lightly kissing on my areola, then moving back down.
“Dallas,” I half-panted, half-laughed.

He didn’t answer or react. Dallas pulled his fingers from inside of me and I opened my mouth to protest, but Dallas started kissing my inner thighs. He got closer and closer to my awaiting sex, but Dallas was trying his hardest not to touch, shit, he was teasing too much! And it felt kinda good…. I put my hands in his almost-white hair and forced him closer to my pussy. Dallas reached under me then pinched my outer thigh to make me stop.
“Mmm, please,” I begged. Dallas continued his torturous kisses on my legs. All while this torture was going on, Dallas’ cock was probably aching him to be freed; he’d been hard for a while. With a quick swoop of my leg, I pinned Dallas onto his back and bent down to his waist. Pushing my hair to the side so he could have a better view, I undid his jeans (being careful not to hurt the vital parts of his anatomy) and released the prize I’d been waiting for.

I kept my eyes locked on his as I took a long, teasing lick at his shaft. Dallas tossed his head back then let out a groan; I was getting him riled up… His eyes drew back to mine and I teased the tip with a big kiss. Okay, I knew Dallas hated teasing, and I deliberately looked at him with a sexy gleam in my eyes, and kept him waiting for me to suck him dry. He balled a fist in my hair as I swirled my tongue down his length. I was getting tired of the teasing as much as he, so I wrapped my hand around his thick cock and took him into my mouth. Dallas caressed my hair, and I could feel his body detense.

I used my tongue to lick the underside while my lips devoured more and more of him, all while pumping my fist after my mouth. I started to bob my head, and Dallas moaned to imply his satisfaction.
“Stop,” he firmly said. I wasn’t expecting that, but I lifted my eyes to his and sucked more.

Dallas tightened his grip in my hair then pulled me away from his cock. Fuck. I climbed up his body, straddled his hips and looked into his flaming blue eyes. As I sank down onto his hard shaft, we both let out different curse words, and I planted my hands flat on his chest. My hips slowly rocked on him, but Dallas was thinking something different; he grabbed my hips and starting ramming into me.
“Ughhhh, Dallas! Fuck, I’m cumming!”

Wow, was I that easy with him? Well, Dallas did get me close when he fingered me, and that blowjob had me on edge.

As my orgasm hit, I didn’t want to sound like I was dying, so I clamped my hand down over my mouth to stifle my reaction as the world kaleidoscoped into brilliant color in every direction. Dallas grabbed my hands and I had to scream out. He must’ve been getting close because Dallas slammed into me harder. So hard that I had to grip the grass beneath us to keep from falling. I scoochied a bit higher, so Dallas started licking and playing with my boobs.

Dallas used his teeth to lightly nibble on me, and his tongue to trace my areola. My hair was falling over my arm, but Dallas’ tongue was killing me; rolling and teasing and flicking my nipple.
His hands firmly squeezed my midriff as he moaned out his orgasm. And I was reaching another. In less than three seconds, I was yelling his name all while announcing my climax, and his cum shot high inside of my womb.

My chest was flat against his; I could barely breathe as I rode wave after wave of passion and lust and relaxation running out of my body. He caught his breath and said, “That’s another thing off my bucket list: have an amazing orgasm outside.”

I hit his chest before saying, “Shush. Hurry, we need to go and get our other stuff.”

I craned my neck, then reached over Dallas’ waist and grabbed my panties. He was trying not to stare while I slid them on, but it was kinda obvious to see his green eyes cutting into my body.
“Dallas, are you staring?” I said over my shoulder.

“Just a little, but, it’s no big deal.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

I quickly stepped into my shorts and pulled on my bra then turned around to him. He finished pulling his jeans back on then jerked his head toward the trees. Dallas led the way back down the hill, keeping his fingers interlock with mine. We stopped at the end of the grassy area.
“Walk or swim?” Dallas asked.

“Swim.” If anything, I was not going to walk over taking a nice dip.

“Since you say so…” Dallas pushed me into the cold water (it felt especially cold since I was raw from the sex).

I clenched my teeth then let out a hiss. “Get in, I can’t take all the suffering,” I said.

Dallas took his sweet time getting back into the water, obviously attempting to make me suffer even more. After he was in, I quickly dove under then swam the other way with him behind me. In five short minutes, we were where we first came in, and I could see our loose clothing articles. Dallas tossed my shirt to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I yanked it down over my head. We stepped into our shoes and shook our wet bodies (I was more like a cat; Dallas was a dog).

“Come on.” He jerked his hand out to me and I proceeded by wrapping my arm under his. Dallas smelt good. Really good. And his hair was still wet from the water, and it made him look younger. No matter how sexy and mountainous Dallas was, he always reminded me of a little kid; he just had this little spark. Especially that dimple in his right cheek; it made his smile brighter and younger. As we walked, he started a conversation:
“What are you doing later?”

I thought for a second. “Nothing really, probably watch a movie.”

“Hm. Okay,” Dallas flatly said. (If someone asks a question like that, shouldn’t they offer to hang out?) I was thinking about my question when Dallas asked, “Do you want to come over?”

“I’d love to.” I grinned but he just rolled his eyes. “When did you ever become so generous?”

Dallas gave my butt a hard smack (he was really an ass guy). He broke from my embrace, then turned around to me and walked backwards.
“I’ve been generous all my life. I just don’t need any help,” Dallas smirked.

“Oh, please. You’re as generous as a rock,” I laughed, trying to throw him off—which I did.

“A rock? How don’t you know that rocks are really nice, they just don’t like you?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly. We don’t know if you’re actually nice, we just know that you’re a smartass.”

Dallas rolled his eyes and we continued walking.
====
Tao ran her cold fingers through my hair. “What the hell?!” I whispered.
“It was messed up,” she mouthed.

It was Monday, and we were sitting in Riate, listening to Brice talk about someone’s mom. The classrooms were all designed like the ones in college: a bunch of stairs, a gigantic-ass row of seats. And, we always sat in the last row back. Tao kicked her feet onto the desk and I gave her a sharp look; she pulled them down.

After Riate, the rest of the day zoomed by, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the library with all five of my books open on the table. In Spirit, I was reading about how it’s almost like a natural high when I cast a circle. Air was telling me about the power to “mist” myself—when I think about being invisible, and I pretty much become invisible. The thing that shocked me the most was what the back said:

Any and all of the Elements together will give one eternal powers…. Tusnced.

It said it was in another book! I trotted off to the front desk then smiled at Zara.
“Yes, darling?” she nonchalantly said. Her nose was in another book.

“Okay, uhm, I need a book. And, I think it is called Tusnced, for all of the powers,” I beamed. Another power would be so cool.

“Oh!” Zara tossed her book to the side and stood up. “Follow me, I’ll show you.” She waved a hand out and I followed her to the back room.

Bookshelves was all I saw. Dizam. I knew there were more books, but gosh! And Zara had read every single one—cover to cover! She walked me to a far bookshelf then sauntered down the narrow aisle. Zara stopped in front of frivehugic-thick books and seized them from the shelf.

“Tusnced, Reaxced, Quacvced, Fzaesced and Lopced. I highly suggest you finish these soon, they’ll be much help to you. I know you’re a bit troubled with non-existent powers, but, they’ll always come back. Here,” she smiled.

I thought I was holding a live human. “Thank you,” I weakly smiled. “Now, I’m gonna leave before I die of muscle strain.”

Zara chuckled as I quickly left the back room. Kicking the door closed behind me, I headed back to my work area, and I saw Dad down the bookshelf aisle. He was searching for something particular. I sat the books down then ran down to him.
“Hi.” I smiled.

Dad glanced at me. “Hello, Eris. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be finishing homework—”

“Finished. Now I’m studying.”

“Oh, ok. Well, you’re a bookworm, so, what are you studying? It has to be something interesting,” Dad smiled. His green eyes sparkled at me.

“My powers. Ya remember how Tao and I cast the circles? Well, I added Spirit, and, now I’m curious and reading the books Zara gave me. Oh, there’s another power that has to do with them, but that comes when I’m older.”

Dad nodded as he grabbed a book. “Hmph, that’s good.” He grinned at me. “Did you tell Nolan happy birthday?”

“32 and counting, though he looks 18,” I winked up at Dad.

“Eris, you must be attracted to older men.”

My eyes got wide, but Dad kept his gaze light-hearted, and I could see he was trying to hide a smile. “Dad! Not appropriate,” I scoffed, playfully punching his arm.

“You’re right, that wasn’t nice. Well, do you remember my 22-year rule?” he asked.

“OhmyGod, Dad. Please stop.” I cradled my face in my hands. I took a deep breath then answered, “No babies, or cutting my hair until I’m 22.”

Dad patted my shoulder. “Bingo. Now, I have to go and meet with a Prof. Bye, kiddo.” He kissed my cheek and left.

Damn, I really hated his rules. No, let me reword that: that rule got annoying. Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna have any baby-Daddy-drama for sure, I did not want that type of life. And, I liked my hair like this. Thinking about how I’d appear with short hair, I walked back to my table and got back to the books. Hell, these four new books would take twice as long to read; I was estimating a mere 2,000 pages—long-ass pages–full of Riate terms. But, it still had some english. Twenty or so minutes into reading Reaxced, my phone buzzed loudly on the glass table.
Dallas: Where r u?

I snatched up my phone and replied.

Me: Not with u.
Dallas: Answr me
Me: Library
Dallas: good. I’ll b there

(Sigh) And, here comes Dallas. I replied then sat my phone back onto the table, continuing on my page. A few minutes later, there was a hand covering my eyes and a sexy humming over my head.
“Dallas…” I irritably said.

“Hello,” he replied, bending down and kissing my lips.

Dallas released me then went to the chair diagonally from me. I gave a fake smile and continued reading.
“May I ask what you’re reading?” he asked.

“No,” I flatly replied.

“That’s cool.” Dallas swiped a book from the table and started reading. “Why—”

“Ya know,” I interrupted, “for a man who doesn’t go to school, you sure as hell like to come to the library… and annoy me.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Eris. You make me proud, but, I wanted to know why you’re reading these. These have nothing to do with your strength.”

“Katniss, I didn’t ask for your input.”

“No, I was an archer before Katniss made it cool. But, would that make you my Peeta?”

“Yeah, I’m the one who choked you,” I grumbled.

Dallas bit his lip and shut up. But, he started humming soon after… his leg was going a million miles… and he was talking a lot… and his energy was through the roof…
“Are you okay?” I asked.

His blue eyes shot up. “Yeah, I’m just bored,” Dallas sighed.

“Well, go home and play with the sisters.”

“Govea got back late last night, and, Hannah and Harley don’t like me.” He laughed at himself.

“Oh, sorry. Well—” I sat up straight and put the book back on the table—“you could help me with these books. And, I think you should get an idea to cast your own circle soon.”

“Hell no, Eris. What do I need to cast circle for?”

“Uhm, for a lot of shit. You could rid yourself of smartass, you could be more connected to Archery, or, you could even get Hannah and Harley to be your friends!”

Dallas crossed over to my seat and switched places with me. He sat me in his lap then wrapped his arm around my backside. “Okay,” Dallas sighed. “Read, I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you! And, I’ll go get a book for you,” I squealed, hopping out of his lap and running back to the front desk.

Zara looked up at me as I asked for the book. She handed me a thick book called Lyacve, then I hurried back to Dallas. He had his face in my book, with his forearms resting on his knees. Dallas glanced up. “Got it?”

“Yup, but take it before I die,” I said, passing the large tome to him.

Dallas read a few pages then his eyes got wide as he looked me dead in the eye. “Did you know that I could bless a bow? I did not know that!”

“See? Perks of having an amazing Eris as your girlfriend.” I put my hands beneath my chin and sweetly smiled.

Dallas stuck his tongue out then continued reading.

Two hours later, we were still in the library, reading and noting some enthralling stuff in our books. Hell, I didn’t know that Dallas could read so fast; he made me feel slow. He had two of his own Archery books on the table, and I had mine on my side. I checked my watch: 7:32, so I had a bit of time before curfew. The good thing was that the library wasn’t all that crowded, and I liked the quiet air—except for Zara ruffling around papers a bookshelf behind us. Wait, what?
“Zara?” I called out.

“I’m just checking,” she called back.

“No, we’re not making out,” Dallas added, smiling at me.

I bit my lip then curled up with my book. Honestly, I had no idea that Dallas liked reading; he barely talked while he was focused on the text. Directly at 8:00, we closed our books at the same time.
“Don’t copy me,” I smirked, setting the book on the table.

“I’ll try to more often. So, did you eat?” he asked.

“No. Are you asking to buy me food?” I grabbed my chest and made my mouth a perfect o. “Nooooooo.”

Dallas mimicked me in his cute way. “Yes.”

I smiled then nodded. “I’d love to eat with you. Are you gonna take them books home?”

“Those, proper grammar.” Dallas made a face. “Yeah, come on.”

“Yeah isn’t a word. It’s yes.”

He curled his lip as we gathered our stuff. I had my cross-over bag with me, so I stuffed my books into it and Dallas carried his under his arm. (We would come off as a nerdy couple.) We said goodbye to Zara, but she was in the back room. Her head popped out.
“Bye, you two. Keep those if you need,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” Dallas replied, stepping through the door with me. We went to the cafe, grabbed some late dinner and talked for a bit before it was 9pm. Dallas walked me back to the dorms, then stopped to sit me down.
“I have to go somewhere soon,” he gently said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Louisiana. My cousin wants to see me, and, hunting. So, I just wanted to tell you before Wednesday—when I leave.”

I rolled my lips in and out. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you when you get back, ” I looked into his brown eyes.

“Yeah—Wait!” Dallas’ outburst scared me a bit. “Go upstairs, change, grab whatever, you’re staying at my place.”

“O-okay, but you didn’t have to scream.” I flicked his head and Dallas smiled. “Give me 10 minutes, and I swear I’ll be back.”

Dallas stood up. “Even better, I’ll head down for you. Hurry up.” He walked the other way and I darted inside.

Five minutes was all I was giving myself to change, grab clothes for tomorrow morning, and put my stuff away. Tao was in her bed, listening to Kenny and on her cellphone. She went bug-eyed when I started removing my clothes and running around.
“What are you doing?”

“Dallas,” I yelled from the closet.

Tao snickered. “Okay. And, don’t be late in the morning or anything. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”

“Got it. Do you have my Domo Kun hoodie?” (We were geeks.)

Tao tossed it from under her bed. I had on a pair of Nike track shorts, with a black tanktop and my hoodie zipped over it, and I had managed to tie my hair into a messy knot. Hell, it was nighttime, it was time to get lazy and not care. Anyway, I grabbed my bag and waved to Tao.
“Have fun.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

I quickly shut the door then sprinted down the hallway. Sneaking out was fairly easy, few to none of the Professors walked around campus at night, and the dorms were close enough to stay hidden in the shadows. But, the only thing stopping me were the Sons of Erebus. I guess Brice and Lena had called them in for something; which meant I couldn’t pass by the mansion (though the mansion was 6 miles out from any other building. But the Sons knew how to cover ground). Lucky me, I had a shortcut through Ria. 200—there was a tree that was struck by lightning a few years back, and the split bark leaned closer toward the apartments. So I ran through the tall oaks until I saw it, then threw my bag over.

Hopping through the tree was easy—not cutting my leg wasn’t.
“Shit!”

Ugh, it really sucked being such a klutz. Anywho, I snatched up my bag then ran to the apartment building. (Aya had told me about the tree.) Knocking on Dallas’ door, I heard something. From next door…. I was about to step over to Bear’s door but Dallas yanked me into the foyer.
“Agh!” I unattractively exclaimed.

“Shush!” Dallas hissed.

I shut up and waited… He roughly pulled me into the bedroom then told me to sit still. I placed my bag on the hook. Dallas reached behind the bed and pushed it to the side a bit.
“Come here. Silently,” he whispered.

I went there. Silently.

He was pressed against my back as we listened through the wall.
“Maybe it was—”

“Shut up! You’re an immature idiot, and you treat everything like a game! You and your brother have no respect for yourselves nor others, and it is very stressing to have one eye on two 21 year-old kids, and the other on others!”

That. Was. Harsh. The first voice had been Bear, and the second to interrupt him was Lena. At least I knew she wasn’t meeting with the Sons.

“Okay,” this was Bull. “Lena, can we please talk to our—”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t care for Chryseis, nor you two. Since when is it rational to eliminate two dragons? Or six gargoyles? It is quite a shame that I can’t come back to campus with a good report; there will always be a set of Twins to piss me off. I hope that we’ll not have this problem again, because there will be extreme consequences.” She slammed a door and departed. (Is this her way of a grand homecoming?)

Two seconds later, Dallas’ front door opened and in came a storm. Bull and Bear weren’t fazed by it, but they weren’t quiet about it, either.
“Bullshit,” Bear grumbled.

“For once in my life, I want to rip someone’s throat out and stomp on them to death,” Bull added.

Dallas stood up. “What does she think you did?”

“2 dragons—”

“—6 gargoyles—”

“—and, stole a sword from Professor Hyllus.”

I barely listened after that. Two dragons, six gargoyles, and even stole something? Hey, Bear might be evil, but he and his brother would never think to do something like that. This was utter and complete bullshit. So much bullshit that I couldn’t even imagine how Chryseis would take it—she’d probably yell or stab them. (Kidding!) Did Brice know about this? Is that why he asked me for Bear late last week? And, when dragons & gargoyles are killed, or when something is stolen, the Professors and Warriors stop at nothing to find out who did it. Damn. Just to think, Lena hasn’t blamed it on anyone except Dallas and the Twins—could there be a reason? Come to think of it, the last time something like this happened, it was a stupid Sio (Junior) who did it. But, she and Brice found out that the girl didn’t know she’d killed the dragon, so they forgave her. It sure as hell wasn’t the same for Dallas or the Twins—Lena just jumped to some silly conclusion to make it them. I mean, I get that they’re older, but, really? And, Lena has been trying to rip my throat out for dating Dallas, and it’s not like I did anything! Right? And, Brice was never the one to alert them! Cruel. That bitch was just cruel. I knew that it wasn’t a coincidence anymore, but Lena was trying to do this. Oh, and why not have it happen when Eris’s best friend loses her powers and they have to cast a circle so their brains don’t explode? WELL, HELL!

“Eris.” I looked up to Bull’s sweet smile. “Two things: do you want me to fix your legs, and, you do know we can hear everything you just thought?”

I nodded and made a face before coming to the edge of the bed. Bull waved his hand over my leg, and once again, I had the warm feeling of doves fluttering around in my stomach. He pulled back and I was fixed up.
“Thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, Domo,” Bull solemnly said.

“Don’t call me Domo, Domo.”

“Don’t you mean homo??” he replied.

“Derogatory term,” I chuckled, following them out of the bedroom.

“Look,” Bear sighed, “Bitch Monster Lena is trying to chew our asses out, especially me. So, Eris, can you use that little, Air power you have to kill her?”

We all sat on the couch and the chairs.

“No,” I answered. “One, I don’t have my powers back. Two, that would only be possible if I was in a circle, then I could help. Three, ask your mom what she thinks. Mothers always have the best perspective—mostly. But, ask her if she thinks you did it. If she says something like, ‘That’s not the point, my point is…,’ then don’t let her talk.”

“And, ask other Professors. They know more than us, so, Lena probably has some secret committee to hate on y’all,” Dallas added.

Bull nodded. “You’re right. Plus, the Sons of Alke, and the Sons of Erebus have been around lately–and they are so hot–so, maybe those dragons and gargoyles being killed is an even bigger deal.”

“I guess.” Bear stood up after his brother. “Eris, get to school on time, we have to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, brother,” I giggled, cuddling up on Dallas’ side.

“And you—” Bull directed his eyes to Dallas “—don’t sleep in. We have to do a bit more tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Dallas said, wrapping his arm around me.

The Twins exited the door then softly pulled it closed. Dallas let out a deep breath.
“Do you think she has a legitimate reason?” I blurted.

“Of course not. Nor does she have the right to say something like that,” he replied. I cupped the side of his neck and Dallas put his hand on my lower back. We sat for a while, then he carried me to the bedroom and tossed me into the bed. Before I could even pull the covers back, Harley and Hannah swopped into the room, with their impressive wings keeping them aloft.
“You two, out,” Dallas barked at them.

Hannah landed on the dresser and cawed at him, Harley got in the chair.

“Xan hsuvo liud nuuw,” Dallas firmly repeated.

They finally got the message then flew out the window and to wherever. Dallas shut the window and looked over at me. I yanked off my Domo hoodie then tossed it to the chair.
“Cute,” he said as he crawled under the covers with me.

“Uhm, shouldn’t you get into your pajamas?” I asked.

“It’s naked or everything, there’s no in between.”

“We can do naked.”

Dallas lightly hit me with a pillow.”Get to sleep before I suffocate you with this,” he joked.

I grabbed another pillow and hit him even harder, but Dallas put his hand on my arm. He pulled me into his tight embrace, hugging me down against the pillow.
“Dallas! I’m gonna die,” I giggled.

“Don’t die, go to bed,” Dallas responded. He pushed into me from behind and laid on his back. I stayed on my stomach, cradling the pillow to my chest.
“Goodnight, Eris.”

“I love you.”

I’m pretty sure that I went to bed before him, because I was out in two seconds.
====
Sahmi was talking about our powers and bodies as we got older. He asked a question,
“What are the three main body types?”

No one raised their hand. Wait… For real?! I raised my hand and Sahmi directed his gaze to me.
“Ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph,” I answered.

“Good. Wanna describe the differences?” Sahmi gave me a secret wink.

“Well, Ectomorphs are lanky, not a lot of body fat, and lean muscles. Mesomorph is medium, ya know, tall and athletic. And, Endomorph is kinda bulky, curvy or even just rounder.”

Most of Rian kids had been in Rianate all their lives, and even the smallest things were so easy to forget, since there were different ways to live here. But, hell, I had almost forgotten them, so, I couldn’t really talk.

Sahmi nodded. “So, you should be able to tell what type you are, all of our bodies are pretty much done growing. And…”

“How did you know that?” Tao whispered to me.

I turned to my left and met her icy eyes. “Magic.” She flipped me off and we continued listening to Sahmi.

After Riate and lunch, then came Art—and it seemed like Verc was in a good mood. But, we honestly never knew with her. She assigned us a project: an abstract painting, using only the colors yellow and blue. With a partner.

Tao spilled some blue paint into our little jar, while I mixed the yellow into hers. We were mixing and talking and preparing to paint when Verc announced something.
“This is a challenge for anyone who wants it: use wax on the canvas. See how that works.”

Wax? Oh! Once, I melted crayons on the lamp at home and the wax got everywhere, but it still came out pretty! I leaned over to Tao.
“Hey, crayons,” I whispered.

“Crayons? Hun, we’re not five,” she quietly chuckled.

“The wax. We can ask Verc for a candle or blow dryer.”

Tao stopped and thought… Her face was priceless. “Yes! Come on, let’s ask.”

We hurried over to Verc’s desk then smiled (we had to be suck-ups for the moment). She looked up with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, girls?”

“Okay, two things: do you have crayons and, a candle or blow dryer?” Tao asked.

“Yes. Is that gonna be your wax?”

“Mmhmm, blue and yellow crayons,” I added.

She stood up. Verc led us to one of the six closets lined on the back wall, and opened the door. Whoa. Who knew there were so many crayon colors?!

Tao chose three dark blues, and four bright yellows; I grabbed two light blues and a golden yellow. Verc shut the door then pointed to another one.
“There are candles, but no blow dryers,” she said.

“Thank you,” we smiled.

I told Tao to get situated at the canvas, and I was to grab the candles. Two people means two candles. Whoa again. In rainbow order, Verc had over 30 candles on the six shelves, and they ranged from short and stubby to talk and skinny. The skinny blue one caught my eye, so I reached in and grabbed it. There was also a skinny yellow one. (Way to follow through with the color.)

I walked back to Tao and nodded. Before Verc had announced the wax, we had smudged blue and yellow shades onto the canvas to rid of any white spots. And Tao had lined the peeled crayons on the top of the canvas, so when the wax melted, it dripped down over the paint.
“Okay.” I smiled then lit the candles. “You’re any color you want.”

“Thanks,” Tao said as she grabbed the blue candle. We barely even had to touch the flame to the crayons for them to start melting blue and yellow wax.

Art was really good (we weren’t done with our wax painting), and Math was just the same. After Math, Dallas texted me to come to his place so we could hang out once more before he left. Alright. I skipped Affinity Hour (like I had been doing for a month) then walked down to Ria. 24.

I walked in through Dallas’ door and heard how annoyed he was.
“Harley, I will be happy to deep fry you,” Dallas groaned.

Harley “yelled” back at him.

“I’m older! What are you gonna do about it, run off to Hannah?!”

Caaaaaaaghhw.

“It’s not gonna be funny when you’re on a plate… And all of your precious little feathers are plucked off from your body… And some weirdo in Kansas wants to eat you for dinner!”

I was standing in the doorway of the bow room, listening and watching them argue. Harley was trying to touch the bow Dallas was holding, but Dallas kept swatting his talon. He literally looked like a little kid trying to touch the water with his toe, but he didn’t know if it was warm or cold.
“Stop it, Harley!” Dallas exclaimed.

Caweeeeeagh.

“You eat vulture vomit!”

Cagghhhhhhh.

Harley flew up and practically screamed at Dallas. They reminded me of dysfunctional brothers: always arguing, hate each other, hurt each other, but they did everything together. Dallas put the bow back, Harley mimicked him by moving his gigantic wings out. Dallas turned around and waved at me, Harley turned his neck and lifted a wing at me.
“Vulture vomit?” I grimaced.

“Yeah, it is disgusting.” Dallas kissed my nose. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, kinda mad that you have to leave.”

“Sorry. But, a week without Harley is heaven.”

Harley made a grunting sound then flew out of the room. He really hated Dallas.
“So,” I said, “what are you doing?”

“Choosing one to take,” he answered.

“Hmm. Pick a color: red or black?”

Dallas thought for a second. “Red.”

I grabbed his bow with red bolts. Dallas made a “duh” sound as he took them.
“Thanks, that was easier than I thought,” he smiled.

“No need to thank me. Just worship me,” I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Dallas gave me a big kiss and squeezed my ass in his large hand. I broke away.
“Have you seen my hoodie? I think I left it,” I said.

“I dunno.” Dallas pulled away and walked out to the living room. “With Harley and Hannah, anything they find is automatically theirs. So, don’t count on finding it.”

“Eh, whatever. Can I—”

“Eris, you’ve asked enough questions. Shzhh.” Dallas waved his hands in my face.

“Well, gosh. Anywho, I was asking to ask you a question. So, may I ask another question so I can stop asking questions and we’ll be question-free?”

“What do you possibly want,” he flatly sighed.

I smiled. “Wait, so I can ask the question?”

“Eris!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But, I was just asking if you seriously want to cast a circle. Ya know, I’ve got this shit down. And, I think I’m casting one next month, or, whenever I have some free-time.”

“Well,” Dallas said, “that’s great, but, I don’t need one. Why can’t I just watch you?” He grinned, looking like a handsome little boy.

“No, Dallas. Do you know how awkward it is to have some idiot staring you down while you’re trying to concentrate?”

“Just block me out.”

I looked him dead in the eyes, and Dallas stared back harder. He hit my arm and I blinked.
“Damnit!”

“Haha,” Dallas smirked, poking my shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” I frowned.

He kissed my forehead then sat back on the couch. I wrapped my arms around his neck as Dallas cut on the tv; he rested a warm hand on my thigh. As I adjusted my body on the cushion, I reached behind my back and grabbed the pen that was secured on my belt loop. I had been drawing on my hand in Math, but I forgot to take the pen off. I hovered over my hand and finished the doodle I had started. I covered the entire back of my hand with a detailed drawing of a sacred heart; it was a design I’d been sketching since I was eleven. It had flames dancing up the back, a crown of thorns on top of it, a spray of roses along the bottom, and in the center I drew a scrolling banner with my name in the center. Dallas peaked over and seized my hand.
“Wow, that’s good. Nice,” he frowned in approval.

I bit my lip. “That’s not even half of what I started in class.” I rolled my sleeve up and Dallas chuckled.

“You should be a tattoo artist; you have a lot of creativity buried inside of you.”

“That’s actually my dream job.” I smiled and Dallas stroked my bare thigh. His hand went higher up, up until I gasped at his warm touch by my covered sex.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop here,” Dallas chuckled. He brought his hand back down and I sighed. That sigh made the rest of my body realize how tired I was, so I sprawled out on his chest and Dallas put his hand on my hip.

“Good afternoon,” I yawned.

“Good afternoon, Avatar,” he laughed.

My eyes shut on instinct, and I only paid attention to the beat of Dallas’ heart. Bum… bum… bum… bum… zzzzzzz.
====
END OF PART 5
I ended the story with Eris sleeping because I didn’t want to blow your brains out with boring shit. This part isn’t all that important, and I didn’t just want to bullshit it. Part 6 will definitely be up tomorrow night.

-L11

---

The clock was ticking at the same beat of my fingers tapping on the desktop. Tick, tock, Eris. Tip, Tap, Eris. You’re gonna ace this test—hopefully. And right now was one of those times that I knew I was gonna massacre. Easy stuff, we learned the majority of it that month, so, it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Okay,” Nanaya announced. “You all may begin.”

Eris Faye was the first thing I scribbled down. Tao tapped me on my hand and I looked over to see her icy blue eyes all confused. I wrote down the answer to number one; she hit herself on the forehead, mouthing, “Duh.” For a five-page test, it was fairly easy to finish in less than 90 minutes and have on Nanaya’s desk.

After History was over, Tao raced down with me to Body Science so we could ask Sahmi about our next quiz. When we got in, Sahmi was sitting on top of the desk, with a pencil floating in front of his face. His affinity was Gravity, and it was amazing to watch him.
“Sahmi?” Tao blurted.

“My ears are open and my eyes are directed on yours,” Sahmi replied, looking directly into Tao’s eyes and snatching the pencil out of the air.

“U-uh—”

“She wants to know about our upcoming quiz,” I snickered, finishing her beautiful sentence.

Sahmi made a face. “Sa quf pors whi acneme duso?” Translated to English, that meant: “And, what would you like to know about the quiz?”

“What type of questions there are,” Tao answered. “I don’t like multiple choice because it messes me up, and writing is a big no, my nails are mucho too importanto!”

He chuckled at her “accurate” Spanish. “Well, Tao, see me after class, we’ll figure something out.” Sahmi winked at her just before the bell rang.

We darted to our seats then pulled out the assignment Sahmi wanted us to do in our textbooks. Following Body Science, I went to Riate and Brice called me over to his desk… What did I do?!

“Hello,” I said, showing the sign of respect.

“Hello, Eris. Uhm, have you seen Caine Prath lately?” he asked.

“Yeah, just yesterday. Why?”

“Lena needs him. Thank you, Goddess, merry part.”

(I loved how they referred to us as Gods and Goddess.) I ran off to my seat, then Tao walked in with a late pass to Brice. She joined me in the back and put her feet up on the desk.

As class progressed, I had a thought of Aya and did I ever give her that necklace. It was late January, and Tao and I had moved on with crying ourselves to sleep about Aya; we knew better than being little brats about it. Two weeks ago, we spread her ashes in my backyard, so we always knew where she was and how we could be connected to her. That was one thing I was happy about, others, not so much.

My Elements still weren’t working, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as last month. Turns out, the Elements made my reflexes stronger (I have no idea why) and it made me super alert during class. So, that was good. And, Dallas had been so good to me, like always. After Riate, we had lunch (walking tacos) then headed off to Art, and I was super happy because Verc was in a good mood. She had us create an abstract painting of what our affinity was in our own eyes; not what it was meant to be or what other people thought.

So, I splattered red and blue and white and green paint on the canvas, then used my pinky finger to swirl it around. The colors actually looked great, the white made everything a tad lighter. Just to be more creative, I even threw in some teal to describe myself. Verc had been circulating the room, but when she saw me, she stopped.
“Amazing work, Eris,” Verc grinned.

“You like it? I’m rethinking the red now that I added the teal… ” I softly replied, frowning at the bright red paint.

“No! That’s beautiful, and if anything were to change, I’d say to throw you in the paint.”

Verc patted my lower back then went on to do her business, leaving me to observe my work. The bell rang and Tao dragged me off to Math. Affinity Hour came quicker than I expected, so I decided to go and visit Govea.

I crept into the steel door and took in the aroma of the dragons. (They all smelt like vanilla mixed with cinnamon—very pleasing.) Down a few rows, I heard Govea’s deep laughter and a dragon cutely roaring back at him. I called out his name, then Govea peeked his head out from the last row of enclosures.
“Just the person.” He smiled. “Wanna meet the babies?”

“Babies?” I started walking closer and Govea went back to his place. My heart exploded when I saw the two baby dragons in the basket.

The first was a pretty pink, with an orange streak of scales going down her back. The other was a deep blue with a yellow streak of scales down her back; they were adorable.
“Meet Ripley and Riva: our new baby girls,” Govea smiled.

I gasped at Ripley’s cute little sneeze. (Ripley was blue; Riva was pink.) “I want to eat them,” I chuckled.

“Well, don’t. They need more than 17 hours to live, Eris.”

“I’ll save you guys for later.”

Ripley let out another sneeze and her scales poofed out; her sister used her small wing to gently pat her back.
“They’re a bit sick. Mama had a bad cold during birth,” Govea said, observing their tiny bodies.

“It’s an inherited trait, huh?” I smiled at Riva and she made an impressive attempt to do the same.

A good minute into talking with Govea, I heard another voice from behind me. “Well, what do ya know, Eris is in here with Govea.”

I turned around and saw Dallas approaching from a row behind. He gave me a soft kiss then looked at the babies.
“You’re cuter than I expected,” Dallas smiled, waving at them.

Riva sneezed and she shot up into the air—literally. She was flapping her little wings while she tried not to fall and break her face. Govea was a few feet away, so Dallas quickly grabbed her and she let out a baby sigh of relief.
“They are very sick,” Govea muttered, with his hand rubbing his chin in thought. “Say, Dallas, would you mind watching them while I’m gone? I have to make a quick stop in Ohio, but I don’t want them to be overwhelmed alone.”

“Uh, I guess. Harley can’t be around them, can he?” Dallas replied.

“I’m afraid not. Have he and Hannah stay at your Yard, they are far too rough to be around newborns.”

Dallas nodded and Govea thanked him again. Huh, Dallas with babies?! This. Will. Be. Hilarious. I picked up Ripley then waved to Govea. “I’ll make sure Dallas doesn’t kill them.”

“Me?! Please, I’m amazing with animals,” he scoffed.

“Says the one who kills them for a hobby,” Govea muttered under his breath. I laughed but Dallas made a boyish grunt as Govea shooed us off and we headed to the apartments.

As we walked, Riva kept trying to fly up, and Dallas had to hold her tight, but she sneezed every two seconds, so his grip was pretty pointless. He opened the door to his place, and we set the sisters free.

I plopped down on the couch, Dallas came over and laid across my lap.
“How was your day?” he asked as he cut the TV on.

“Fine.” I ran my fingers through his light hair. “How was yours?”

“You could say… terrible.”

“Why?”

Dallas’ violet eyes lifted to mine. “Because I say so. And, I got bit by Harley and Hannah. They just don’t like me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Would it make you feel better if I cooked for you?” I waggled my eyebrows down at him.

“Hmm, what will you make me?”

“I’m not telling you. Shut up and sit down.”

“Eris, that’s not very nice. You should apologize.” Dallas made his puppy-dog eyes.

“Dallas,” I mocked, “that’s not very nice. I think you should apologize.” I stuck my tongue out before running back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, I was still in the kitchen, listening to music and making this sandwich for him. Something was moving behind me… I whipped my head around and saw Dallas hop onto the counter then smile. I yanked my headphones out and laughed. “What the shit?! Go back in there.”

“Unless you want to be burned, turn around and make me a sandwich,” Dallas said, being his traditional smartass.

I stuck my hand in the drawer then pulled out something. “I know you didn’t just tell me to make you a sandwich,” I growled as I pointed the blade at him.

Dallas shrugged. “Okay, make me a grilled cheese sandwich.”

I dropped the knife back into the drawer then finished the sandwich. Cutting off the stove, I passed Dallas the plate and he took a gigantic bite.
His eyes got wide. “Awh, bitchin! There’s pepperoni!”

“Really?! I didn’t know.” I made a fake gasp but Dallas just nodded.

“Pepperoni.” He took another bite and rolled his eyes to the back of his head while he moaned.

“Is it that good?” I giggled and mimicked his face.

Dallas nodded. “It’s that good.”

“You’re welcome.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek then ran off to the living room to watch the game.

Dallas finished up in the kitchen, and took his medicine before coming to sit with me. He pulled my legs into his lap and grazed his fingertips over my covered skin—but it still felt like he was trying to tickle me. I wiggled from his grinp and he gave me a death stare.
“Quit moving,” Dallas huffed.

“No, you’re gonna molest me,” I giggled, tucking my knees to my chest.

“Molest you? I mean, I know that you’re into some freaky shit, but molest—”

I hurled a pillow at him and Dallas flopped back on the couch. He quickly threw the pillow back but I covered my head. Dallas yanked my leg again, then laid me on his lap and started tickling me.
“Dallas, stop! I will punch you in the throat!”

He dropped his hands and started laughing. I took advantage and pushed him back on the cushions, straddling his lean hips.
“Hey! That’s not fair,” Dallas chuckled.

“Life isn’t fair. Don’t tickle me unless you wanna wake up dead,” I growled while pinning his arms back.

“Wake up dead? How much sense does that make?”

“I dunno, do you wanna test that theory? Because I will—”

Dallas hit me with another pillow and I flipped back the other way. Damn, I never knew a pillow hurt that much! He had his turn on top then kissed my neck, but I pushed him onto his back then sat up straight. Dallas got up, then wrapped his arm around my upper back, pulling me closer to his warm body. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the smell of his yummy cologne; Dallas always smelt so fucking good. He must’ve noticed my sniffing because he pushed the side of my face.
“Hey!” I blew a strand of hair out of my face before sticking my tongue out at him.

“Don’t sniff people, you’re not a dog,” Dallas said.

I started to kiss on his neck, and Dallas sighed (I had my ways). He put his hands on my midriff, then slid his hand down to cup my ass while I grinded my hips down onto his.
“Hey,” Dallas laughed. “Don’t start something.”

I swung my legs the other way then straddled him backwards. Dallas put his face in the crook of my neck and started to lightly kiss me, with his tongue trailing up the side of my neck and to my ear. He was in love with my ears (not in the creepy way) because he loved to play with my earrings and piercings. On the left, I had an industrial piercing, a double hoop helix with tiny blue barbells, and two studs in the lobe. On the right, I had four tiny hoops in the lobe, another single helix, and a forward helix. He loved to tug and lick on them, and it made me crazy.
“Mmm,” I smiled. Dallas moved to my lobe and nibbled the pink ball I had in.

“You taste good,” he whispered. Damn, his warm breath made me moan.

“Well, I do like to taste good,” I giggled.

“Of course you love to taste good. Because I’m the only one who gets to ever taste you.”

I twisted my neck and glared at him. “Oh, really?”

“Yes really, Eris.” He gave me a small peck. I went in again and pushed Dallas back onto the soft cushions of the couch. He looked directly between my legs, obviously thinking about what was covered by my skin-tight leggings. I poked his stomach.

“Don’t look, I wore clothes for a reason,” I chuckled.

Dallas put his head back. “Meanie,” he pouted. Oh no, not the pout! Dallas made thee cutest pouty face, and thee cutest puppy eyes, and I always felt bad.

“No, Dallas! Please don’t, I’ll feel like shit!” I sighed. I put my face in my hands and Dallas started laughing.

“Alright, alright. Come on, I’ll let you leave this time since you have homework.”

I crawled out of his lap then sat up. Dallas walked me to the front door and leaned against the frame before bending down to kiss me. “I love you, don’t text me later,” he said.

I made a hurt face. “Damn. That was harsh.”

“What? I’m not gonna be up, I’m taking my ass to bed when you go.”

“Dallas, it’s only 6pm.”

“And? I slept terrible last night, so, I need to fix it by playing nocturnal.”

“Playing nocturnal? As in, sleep all day, party all night?” I laughed when he nodded.

“Yep, so, don’t text me.” Dallas wrapped me up in his thick arms. He put his hand on the base of my neck then whispered, “Next time, you won’t be leaving.”

“Oh really? And”—I pushed him away—”you won’t either, I may just tie you to the bed then molest you.”

Dallas down peered at me. “What is up with you and molesting?” he snickered.

I shrugged then hugged him around his neck and blew a kiss. “I love you.”

Behind his leg, Riva and Ripley looked at me like little kids—not really coming out, hiding behind Dallas. I waved to them then walked back to the dorms.

Right when I stepped the through the glass doors, my friends Giovanni and Ophelia stopped me.
“Hey, Eris,” Ophelia smiled. She had this bright pink, black and white hair, with dark eyes with vibrant rings of pink and white surrounding her pupils. Her affinity was Flexibility, and I liked to call her “Pretzel” because htere wasn’t a way she couldn’t turn her body.

She handed me a candle. “This is a gift from me and Gi, we wanted to say thanks for the advice.”

“Oh! Thanks! Everyone knows how I am about candles,” I giggled, observing the lavender candle. Last week, Giovanni was scared her powers were dying out because nothing was working, but I helped her locate her “inner Photography” and bring them back. But the unique thing was: Giovanni was Deaf, and Ophelia was her best friend.

Giovanni’s afifnity for Photography was astounding and she found art in everything she saw. Her dark blue eyes reflected her dark purple hair, and the ink of her Maxi swirled around her arms. She never used her disability as an excuse, and she was probably one of my closest friends!

“Thank you,” Giovanni signed, showing me the sign of respect at the end.

“You’re welcome, I gotta go. But I’m glad you got them back.” I smiled, bowed back then ran off to Tao.

Upstairs, I didn’t expect Tao to be sitting on the ground, with Mumble squawking and making a raucous. I giggled when he pecked her hand and made Tao squeal, “Ow!”

“Good job, Mumble. Keep it up,” I said.

“Ugh, hey. How was it with Dallas?”

I kicked my boots off, set the aromatic candle on the nightstand and leaned against the window.
“It was fine,” I sighed. “Hey, is Maz like, dead or something? He wasn’t in any classes, and he didn’t walk you to any Hours.” Tao rolled her eyes and clenched her fists on her knees.

“He’s being a complete asshole. His Dad took him through the portal, but I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday. And all he does is read my messages like they don’t exist,” she said. It was Thursday, so I knew Tao had to be going crazy.

I scoffed. “Well, at least you know he’s not dead. Alright, I have to change and finish my homework.” I peeled off my bottoms, tossed my shirt into the hamper then scampered along to the bathroom.

It took way longer to finish my homework, but after reading my book and playing with Mikey, I flopped down on the bed. Tao came over to me and sat on my legs, obviously prepared to ask me something.
“Yes?” I said from under my arms.

“You want a slushie? You look really tired, and, slushies work magic,” she smiled. I nodded, and Tao made me a cherry slushie.

I sipped the treat like a toddler, and Tao must’ve been happy because she made herself one–though it was just slush, no flavor. We ended up sleeping in the bed together, with our slushies on my nightstand.
====
Thank God the next day was Friday because I was mentally and physically exhausted. Seriously. On the History test, I got 100, and in Art, Verc displayed my work for an example. Wow, I really sounded like a goody-goody…. ew. After Math, I got texts on my phone from Bull.
Bull: Hey, are you done in class??
Me: Yes, why?
Bull: Come to the library.
Me: Fine.

I had already been heading toward the dorms, so I redirected and went to Ria. 57. When I opened the doors, I could see Bear and Bull talking with their mom, and obviously trying to tell her a joke. Bull saw me, then stood up and waved me over like an idiot with a grin so bright that he looked kind of like a mad man. Chryseis rolled her eyes at him when Bear gently punched her shoulder, and she punched him back even harder. She saw me then grinned.
“Hello, Eris. Merry meet,” Chryseis said.

“Hello. Uhm, what do you two want?” I asked the Twins.

They perked up and rose to their feet. “Oh! We need your help,” Bear deeply said.

“We don’t know how the Dewey Decimal System works… so can you help?” Bull gave me the biggest grin ever.

“I guess….”

“Eris, I suggest you run as far as possible; they’ll start depending on you like they’re lost puppies.” Chryseis gave them an annoyed look then smiled again before leaving.

“Ma!” Bear laughed. “That’s not nice!”

“I love you!” Bull called out.

I laughed when Chryseis turned around and gave them a playful finger.
“ What do you guys need?” I asked.

“Uhm, dragons. Particularly babies… that are sick… and shooting themselves into the air.”

“Ah, Riva and RIpley? They’re so cute! But, you left them alone with Dallas?”

Bear nodded as we crossed over to a bookshelf. “He isn’t that bad of a parent. Dallas turns on the game and they’re mesmerised.”

“Ya mean like you?” I glanced back at them as I handed them a thick book.

Bull carried the first book over to the lounge area, and I passed an even thicker one to Bear. He joined his brother in the red chairs then flipped them open.
“Goddamn!” They started coughing and waving their hands at the tons of dust from the book covers.

“Well, that was probably written in 1700 B.C.,” I sighed, kicking my feet up on the table.

Bear skimmed for a while then gasped, “I’ve found nothing!”
Bull took his turn then said, “Oh wow, there’s nothing useful in here!”

“Well, you’ve only read two pages, so, you should look a bit deeper. Pick a number, divide it by 2 or 4, then read that page.”

The Twins got their numbers then flipped through the books again. Bull found something and said, “It’s because mama had a dragon-flu!”

“And, they have terrible immune systems,” Bear mumbled, flipping through more pages as if he’d never held a book before. “This is so not English,” he chuckled.

Bear and Bull looked for a bit more then handed the books back to me like I was a servant. I looked at them as if they were crazy. “Since when am I your servant? God gave you two working legs, so use them.”

Bear made a groan and got louder while he stomped off to the bookshelf, same with Bull and his cute pout. They came back then looked at me like I was the devil.
“Problem? I’m just trying to keep you two in shape,” I deviously smiled but the Twins rolled their eyes.

“We gotta go and check on Dallas, are you coming?” Bull asked, standing up and running his fingers through his cloudy hair.

Every time I stared at his tresses, I just wondered how he made his clothes match something so bright. I was sure his hair was a brighter white than snow, and when I looked at Bear’s hair, it was darker than a summer night sky.

“Nah, I’m gonna stay here. Hey, Bear, can you go ask Zara for a book on Fire? And Earth? And Water? And Air?”

Bear turned the corner of his lip up into a sneer. “Uhm, do I look like a male stripper? Then don’t ask me to please you.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Caine.” Bull looked at him with bright grey eyes but Bear huffed air out of his nostrils.

“If you get it, I’ll buy you a smoothie,” I quickly bribed.

It took Bear about two seconds to sprint to the front desk and come back with the four books. He had an obsession with smoothies; there wasn’t anything Bear wouldn’t do for a smoothie. He gently passed them to me.
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Call me when you really need a smoothie.”

“Okay! Bye,” Bear said. He and Bull walked out of the library then went back to the apartments for Dallas.

Why did I need these books? Good question. Sometime that following week I wanted to cast a circle and “talk with” my affinity. Over a month without powers made me kinda antsy, so I made it a goal to cast a circle at least once so I didn’t freak-the-fuck-out. The books would just show me how to do it properly; no room for screwing up.

I sat the books on the table, side by side then opened the Air first. One thing from rituals I remembered was: Air, Fire, Water then Earth; call them in that order, dismiss them backwards. Since the Twins and Dallas gave me those candles, I’d been illuminating our dorm with them and concentrating on my homework (and it really worked). Casting a circle was completely different: I had to make sure I had a purified space; complete the circle; do it well; 10000000% of my attention is on the circle; have a purpose. Well, I had those answers and items. To purify the space, I could use the lavender batch Nana and Papa gave me, and weave it to make a scented braid. Completing the circle is easy: I just needed a certain amount of area with my candles in a compass organization. And, the rest was fairly easy to do or find or whatever. Studying the Riate words got very confusing, since I was used to the rituals being written in english. Some of the letters got turned over, some had extra lines, most had squiggly lines and twists, and I had to translate all of it! Well, after a difficult study, I picked up the books and crossed over to the colossal desk.

Zara was in her own little world, reading One for the Money and humming a tune.
“Zara—”

“AH!” Zara’s book flew out of her hand and she was all bug-eyed. She sighed when she realized it was me. “I’m sorry, Eris. Pardon me for startling you.”

That little scream she did made me jump. “It’s alright. And, you have a beautiful screaming voice, it is truly outstanding,” I smiled but Zara gave me a look.

She noticed the books against my chest and nodded. “Ah, casting circles, huh. Have any idea when you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, before this month is over.”

Zara nodded as she typed something into her computer, with her pink nails flying across the keyboard. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she had a cute flower crown on.
“Alright,” Zara grinned. “Feel free to keep them as long as you like, I won’t mind if they’re not returned.”

“Zara, I can’t just do something like that. That’s called stealing,” I was being serious but she laughed.

“Sweetie, it’s not considered stealing if I say you can have them. Heck, I’m the only Professor who’s read all 17,836 of these books, and, I have permission to give them to you. So, study long and hard, and have a great circle.”

She was right: her affinity (Reading, obviously) made her memorize chapters and lines from books, and it made her read twice as fast. So, if she said I could have them, there was no arguing.

I raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Zara wiggled her fingers at me and I exited the large glass doors.

Not only did I just get four gigantic books, but, I can reread and do an even better job on my circle. With my mental notes, I planned to cast the circle tomorrow, in the woods where it’s secluded and peaceful. I would make an addition to the lavender, and mix some dried eucalyptus to give it a yummy smell. The entire purpose of the circle would be to connect with my powers spiritually, more than just physically and emotionally. Oh! I had to use the candles Dallas and the Twins gave me, and I’d add another candle: the one Giovanni gave to me.

I’d use it for Spirit. I read that Spirit was an affinity, and categorized as an Element, so why not? The purple candle would be in the middle, with the other four in a perfect diamond to connect them all.

Seems like my circle was gonna be pretty darn good. While coming up the stairs in the dorms, my phone buzzed with a text from Dallas.
Dallas: what are u doing?
Me: Why?
Dallas: Answer my question, please.
Me: Going to my room. Why?

Dallas was just asking about his sweatshirt—I kinda took it last time I slept over. He wanted it back, but I wanted to keep it because it smelt like him and it was big and warm! Dallas said he’d steal it back, I highly doubted that he’d do it.

When I walked into the dorm room, Tao was coming out of the shower with a bit of cold smoke radiating from her wet body. She whirled around and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I waved and smiled back.

“What’d you do after school? I missed you last Hour,” Tao said as she searched for some clothes.

“Oh, the Twins needed me.”

“Hmm. And, what’s up with the books?” She slipped a shirt over her head and glanced at me.

I dropped the books on my desk then laid down on the bed. “Well, I’m casting a circle soon, so I just needed some review.”

“That’s awesome!” Tao clapped her hands together and gave me the happiest smile ever.

I smiled back as she stepped into a pair of gym shorts.

She sneered at her purse on the desk. “Poop. Well, I have to finish this for Kirsi”—Tao pulled a thin stack of papers out of her bag—”and I don’t feel like it.”

“Tao.” I snatched the papers from her. There were only four pages, so it shouldn’t have been that hard. “Half and half?”

“Honey, no. Thank you, I have to do this by myself, because this is stuff I don’t know. You know it, but I don’t.” Tao gently took the papers back and sashayed to her desk.

She put her iPhone on the speaker and turned on Kenny Chesney—oh God. I sat on my bed, listening to her sing along and do her homework. It was funny to watch Tao multitask, because she was super clumsy. The pen kept rolling off of the desktop, so she had to continuously bend over and pick it up. After the eighth time, Tao froze the writing utensil to the desk and continued working. (Great use of power.)

She closed her books and put her stuff away, saying, “Finished!”

“Good job, Tao Chesney,” I muttered.

“You know it. Hey, so I gotta tell you this story.”

“I’m listening…” I drew my eyes to her.

“So, one time when I was 14, there was this boy”—with Tao, there’s always a boy—”and he was real cute. And, I finally grew the tits to go over and say hi, but, I was just so nervous! I went over, he waved, and I freaked out! I accidentally froze his hand like—” Tao had her hands up, and there was a little spark of energy before the power shot out of the window, and sent a strong wind through the room. Tao got flung back onto her bed, and there was a big crackle of ice over our heads. After the ice stopped falling, I sat up and shook the tiny crystals out of my hair. Tao had not moved yet.

“Tao!” I scrambled out of bed and came over next to her, and she hugged me. “Are you okay?”

Her cold body felt even colder, and I was just scared that I would lose her. “That ain’t supposed to happen,” Tao nervously chuckled into my neck. I held her out at arm’s length then smiled.

I pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. But—” Tao flicked her hand out, with the intention of getting ice to hit the wall, but nothing happened. She tried over and over again until she was hyperventilating and frantically talking over me.

“Eris, Eris, my powers! What happened? Eris! Help, I dunno what—”

“Calm down,” I slowly and loudly said. Tao cradled her head in her hands. “Okay, we need to go and alert Brice, because that’s not normal.”

“Right,” she flatly said. Tao was stunned—in all of 14 years, she’d never lost her powers or anything. She grabbed a hoodie then stepped into her boots; I stepped into my shoes and we quickly went downstairs.

It was past curfew, but that was the least important thing right now. What was important was Tao. Some of the girls were sitting in the living room watching MTV, and one of those girls was Giovanni. I tapped her shoulder and her soft pink eyes locked on mine.
“What’s up?” she signed.

“Giovanni, we have to leave. It’s important, and we’re going to Brice. Just, don’t freak if we’re leaving after curfew,” I replied.

“Is everything okay? You look upset.” Her hands moved quickly, so I knew she wasn’t happy with what we were asking.

“Sorta. We… We’ll explain it later, but we have to go.” Tao and I bowed to her and she smiled back.

Tao and I burst out of the glass doors then hurriedly walked over to Ria. 84. (We knew we’d be in some deep shit if we were sprinting around like Usain Bolt—especially after curfew.) When we passed by the apartments, it was clear that there was a party going on, because chatter was beyond the roof. And a bunch of lights were on on the top floor. Tao grabbed my arm and said, “We might just have to run… I don’t want to take too long.”

“Eh, you’re right,” I nodded then we broke out into sprint.

By time we got there, Tao and I were both breathing a bit hard (we may or may not have run into a crazy gremlin).

We opened the doors and walked down the dark hallway to Brice’s office. From inside, we could hear Brice talking to someone—not to himself, but someone.
“Maybe you should tell that to your aunt, Karder,” he said.

Oh. He was talking to Xi and Karder—his sons. (The two men who escorted me into Rianate, and, they were the ones to take Aya’s body away.) I didn’t even figure that out until Dad told me, but, it made sense: they were a bit older than us (maybe 27-30 years old), they worked for Brice all the time, and they had Brice’s ,. (It just meant that Lena was their aunt.) And no one had seen Lena for a while, she went to Arizona for something. Anyway, Brice finished talking with them, then Xi and Karder passed us in the hall.
“Girls,” Xi asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the dorms? Curfew.”

“We need Brice, it’s far too important to wait,” Tao replied.

“Oh. Merry part,” Karder said, bowing to us. He and his brother quickly left to wherever they stayed—I think in the mansion. Tao took an intense breath, then slowly widened the heavy door…. Brice was standing with his back to us, sipping on wine from a silver goblet.

“Brice…” Tao faintly said.

He quickly turned to us with a raised eyebrow. “It is past curfew. You two shouldn’t—”

“Her powers are gone,” I blurted, inadvertently cutting him off.

His expression darkened. “What? Why has this happened? Show me, please.”

Tao started walking closer then flicked her wrist, but nothing…. nothing came out. She let out a frustrated sigh and plopped down in the leather wingback chair .
“I dunno what happened, Brice. We were in the dorm, and it didn’t work. It was like, some invisible force pushed my powers out of my body,” Tao explained, looking him dead in the eye. “The ceiling froze over, and the ice melted, crackled and fell onto us.”

“Hmm, well this is completely abnormal. Sit, Eris,” Brice said. I plopped down in the chair, Brice took his seat behind his desk and continuously stroked his bearded chin. “Now, it is completely peculiar… It’s never been that two Rio have lost their powers, and it’s never been two friends that it’s happened to.”

Tao and I shared a knowing look. She turned back to Brice then said, “What’re we going to do?”

“It’s not all that safe for us to be powerless,” I added.

He must’ve gotten an idea because his dark eyes lit up. “Well,” a smile crept onto his lips. “Asking for help always works.”

“Wha?” we dumbly huffed at once. I shook my head before saying, “Brice, what kind of help do you need? Everything is right in front of you, you practically own us.”

“Yeah, who’d be able to help?” Tao creased her brow.

“It’s not like I have an affinity for everything. Leave me, I’ll show you two tomorrow. But for now, avoid things that could harm you or your non-existent powers. After school, I think I’ll have something to help. Merry part.” He gently bowed to us, and we stood then bowed back.

Tao dragged me out of the doors and we started back to the dorms.

“Tomorrow? After school? What the shit, I lose my powers and now we’re playing tea party? Did he do this with you? How in the world are we supposed to get them back? Why did this happen? Please, tell me why. Because I don’t have an answer to any of my questions, and it’s tiring to be so overwhelmed and stressed out!” Tao frantically said, waving her cold hands around in front of her chest.

“Tao, it’s not so hard after a while. Brice knows what he’s doing, but, I’m not so sure about playing tea party either. We’ll just have to wait.” I gave her an apologetic smile; Tao rested her head on my shoulder.

We had been talking to Brice for a while, and it was nearing 1am. But, I couldn’t care less because that next day was Saturday, and, I had to make one more stop. I had decided to cast circle tomorrow night, but now that Tao’s powers were gone, we needed some extra candles. It was completely out of the norm for Rios to be out this late, and we had to go all the way over to the Rec Hall. In the Rec Hall where kids performed rituals or just hung out, there was another gigantic room—for candles. Literally hundreds of candles, row upon row upon row, just in this extra storage room. They were used for circles, or if someone wanted a candle for the night. And, the candles were based on affinity, and I knew there had to be some Ice ones in there.

I held Tao’s forearm as we entered the closed gates. The door wasn’t locked, but it was steel and it took both of us to open it. Tao shut the door after we got in, then followed me down to the room. We creaked open the next steel door and the different scents of candles hit us.
“It always smells good in here,” I grinned.

“What do we need? You have four candles for your circle,” Tao softly said as she observed the different candles.

“Yeah, those are for me, we need some for you.” I spotted the first light blue candle and made an “aha!” sound. Grabbing the first, my eyes lifted and I saw the second. Tao grabbed another, but we just had to find a fourth… Oh! (Trust me, this would be much harder if our vision wasn’t so good. There were well over a thousand candles in there.)

Tao seized the last and we quietly left the room, shutting the large door behind us. Ten minutes later, we were climbing up the stairs in the Girls’ Dorm and getting back to our room. I sat the candles on her shelf, Tao put hers next to mine. She turned to me as she stripped off her hoodie.
“So, you’re saying you’re gonna cast a circle for both of us?”

“No,” I corrected, “we’re gonna cast a circle for the both of us.”

“But, I dunno how to do that shit,” Tao sighed.

“Neither do I. Well, sorta—whatever. Tomorrow afternoon, stop at the library and read about yours, okay?”

Tao nodded as she crawled into the bed. “I’m hella tired, goodnight.”

I took off my clothes then flopped back onto the soft bedspread. Five seconds into laying down and relaxing, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Dallas: r u sleojaeping?

His typos made it clear that Dallas was shit-faced.

Me: Baby, get some sleep.
Dallas: HeAKJy nhl. paibSues wqhxat?

This was one of those times when autocorrect did not want to correct him.

Me: Dallas.

Dallas: Nothing. naijJusjnvSayingqmxks

He was drunk. Seriously.

Me: Go to bed, good night.

Dallas sent a few random letters then continued blowing me up. I didn’t bother checking my phone every time it buzzed, Dallas was just sending me random words like “hey” or “Eris” or “wake up” or “hah,” just drunk stuff. (At least I know he was at that party.) My notifications started signaling phone calls (Dallas was a drunk-caller), and they lasted about two seconds. Many phone calls and text messages later, I slowly closed my eyes and got to sleep.
====
I knew the second I should’ve woken up to check on Dallas because he interrupted my dream. I had been lying out in the sun (sunny weather is the bomb) on a big, heart-shaped floatie in the middle of a lake made of Sprite (who knows?), when all of a sudden everything disappeared and Dallas’ voice burst into my skull.
“You’re too young to sleep so late!”

God, he reminded me of my Father. My eyes fluttered open to meet Boing’s heavy glare with her fluffy tail resting on my neck. She made her annoyed squeak sound, sneezed, stood up long enough to pad around and around in circles on my chest, then she plopped down and took up the pillow space.
“You’re really no help at all,” I grumbled.

She ignored me. I only had on a polka-dot bra, and black shorts, so I was extra chilly. Fuck, I did need to go check on Dallas—he REALLY knew how to drink. I rolled my neck on my shoulders, then pushed my messy hair back and out of my eyes. Tao was curled up in a little ball, with her arm under her cheek and her face smushed into the pillow. Cutie. Mumble and Mikey were chilling on the floor, with Mumble laying on Mikey’s side and Mikey snoozing with his face in his paws.

I ran to the bathroom, took a hot shower, then quickly got dressed. If anything, leaving Dallas by himself while he was hungover was terrible. He was usually grumpy in the morning, but especially with a headache and tons of alcohol in his system. Ha, just to see him suffer…. Anyway, I grabbed my cellphone and stepped into my shoes then left the room.

Oh boy. I walked into Dallas’ place and saw the loose tee shirt on the couch. Peeking into the hallway, I saw the cracked bedroom door, and I heard Dallas shuffling the covers around. I sat my bag on the chair then slowly approached the bed. He was laying on his front, with his messy hair and his bare back to me. His Maxi looked sexy, but I wasn’t focused on that. I softly shook his shoulder.
“Dallas,” my voice barely reached a whisper. He wasn’t budging. I shook his shoulder again. “Dallas.” Nada. I put my hand on the base of his neck and got close to his ear. “DALLAS!”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Dallas popped up and threw a pillow at me.

“Ow!”

“Oh, baby.” He groaned. Dallas rubbed my cheek and said, “I’m sorry, but don’t do that.”

“It’s… fine? Jesus, boy, get up!” I poked his shoulder but Dallas didn’t smile. “When did you get home?”

“Uh…” Dallas glared at the clock on his nightstand. His normally bright blue eyes were reflecting his mood: dull and crestfallen. “2am, I think. I dunno.”

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his thighs, and his head down. I ran my fingers through his messy locks, making Dallas sigh and rest his head on my stomach.
“Maybe a shower,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Shush. I know, I’m dirty and need a shower. And, dear God, I need food! And coffee! And sleep! Ughh,” Dallas flopped back onto the bed and covered his face with a pillow. He still had on his jeans, but they were low-rise so I had a good view.

“Rebel, maybe you shouldn’t stay out so long, since you enjoy sleeping the day away.”
I called him Rebel for two reasons: it was his middle name, and Dallas read this story about a guy named Rebel who always drank. Plus, he was my little Rebel.

“Not in the mood for jokes.” His voice was muffled but I could hear him clearly.

“Okay. Well, take a shower, I’ll make you food and stuff.”

“Thanks, Avatar.” Dallas chucked the pillow at the wall, and I flinched when it landed on the hard surface with so much force. He got up then squeezed my hip. “I can’t kiss you because I have every hint of alcohol on my breath.”

I chuckled and Dallas patted my ass. He shut the bathroom door then did his business while I went to prepare him breakfast. 20 minutes later, a fresh Dallas walked into the kitchen for breakfast, coffee, and medicine. He took a sip of the coffee and made a satisfied groan. He leaned his head back to me.
“Did I ever tell you that you make caffeine taste like Jesus?”

“I’ve been told before,” I giggled, handing him the plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

“And did I ever tell you that you have just made food my new drug?”

“Nah, but you should. And, did you brush your teeth?”

Dallas nodded. “Why—” I didn’t give him time to answer before devouring his lips. Keeping my lips on his, I took the coffee from his hands, and Dallas seized my hips. He trapped me against the counter, using his tongue to explore my mouth while I inched my fingers into his sweatpants. We finally pulled away, breathing hard and Dallas had a slight smile on.

“Because I wanted to do that,” I grinned, walking to the living room.

Dallas quickly joined me and he ate his food while I searched for something to watch. He took his plate back to the kitchen then laid on the cushions with me. I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him about Tao losing her powers, Dallas wouldn’t really care.
“We probably need to check on the Twins,” he muttered.

“What? Are they shit-faced too,” I groaned, tossing my head back and closing my eyes.

“If I was that bad, they have to be drowning in a tub of beer. Come on.”

Dallas yanked me off of the couch and we quickly went to Bear’s apartment. His place was pretty neat, he just had a few misplaced items here and there (not to mention everything was dark, and, all of the curtains were closed). In the bedroom, Bear was laying on his stomach with the covers tossed to the side and his tee shirt dangling at the foot of the mattress. Dallas gave me a look then mouthed, “I’ll do it.”

I nodded. Dallas took a deep breath then crossed over to the side of the bed. He hit Bear with a pillow, he didn’t budge. Dallas tried over and over, but nothing. He rolled his eyes then grabbed two more pillows. Dallas hit Bear with so much force that I even flinched. With lightning speed, Bear hopped out of bed, shoved Dallas onto the ground and yelled, “GET OUT!”

I picked up a pillow and hit him in the stomach. Bear barely (haha) moved, but he was taken aback by the way I hit him.
“You get off your ass and get in the shower,” I huffed, giving him a death stare. “And say sorry.”

Bear sneered at me but grinned at Dallas. “Sorry, fucker. I’ll go for the nuts next time.”

“Thank you.” Dallas grinned back as he picked himself up. Bear hurried off to the shower then did his own business. Dallas looked back at me with dark green eyes and said, “You can wake up Christopher. He actually scares me a bit.”

I shrugged and we left to go and get Bull. Once again, his place was really nice, and he was in his bedroom snoozing away. The duvet was a bright blue pattern, and the gazillion of pillows were a cute shade of blue (they really contrasted with his white hair). I hit him with a pillow, nothing happened. After the tenth time, Bull seemed as if he was dead. I gave Dallas a helpless look but he mouthed, “Super hard.” I heeved a great sigh then saw Bear appear in the doorway. He asked me for the pillow but I scrunched up my nose to make him back down.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Bull. I held the pillow out then, I rammed it down onto his back.
“WHAT THE FUCK!”

I think that did it. Bull sat up then saw it was me. “You little—”

I ran over to Dallas and Bear and stood behind them, looking over their shoulders at the hungover victim. Bull hopped out of the bed then gave me a death stare.

Bull twisted up his mouth. “Someone make me breakfast, I need to shower.”

“Anything else for our queen?” I said under my breath.

“I’d like your head on a stick. Your queen shall be clean.” Bull slammed the bathroom door and did his own little business.

By time Bear and Bull were done with breakfast and going about their day, Dallas and I were sitting in the bedroom and talking.
“…and it was really nasty,” I giggled. I just told him a story about the time my friend had cat pee in a cup and poured it in my backpack. (We were 15, don’t judge.)

He tossed his head back and started laughing. I pulled him down into a kiss, but I didn’t expect Dallas to stick his tongue into my mouth.
“Baby!” I giggled.

“I want to show you my love,” he laughed into my mouth.

I pushed him off. “Show your love in another way, but don’t choke me with your organ.”

“What the….” Dallas sighed and shook his head. “Choke you with my organ?”

“Tongue”—I stuck my tongue out—“organ.”

“Eris”—Dallas put his finger on my forehead—“weirdo.”

I blew him a kiss and Dallas kissed me for real. After the eternal kiss, he pulled back then said, “I have to go soon. And, I don’t want to start something we can’t finish.”

“Poop! Where do you have to go?” I replied`.

“Uh, Riva and Ripley, duh. And, I have to check on Hannah and Harley. Oh, and I have to go practice. And I have to—”

“That’s amazing, but I don’t care.”

Dallas pushed the side of my face as he got off of the bed. He reached into his closet, grabbed something then sighed. Dallas pulled out a deep blue shirt and grinned. “You might wanna close your eyes, I’m getting naked.”

“Oh, let me just open my eyes,” I laughed, turning to his body.

Dallas stripped his white shirt off then changed into the blue one. He tossed it over his shoulder, and into the hamper.
“Awh,” I pouted. “That wasn’t naked.”

“Close enough. Come on, I’m gonna walk ya back,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. Dallas wrapped his arm around my waist then nuzzled my hair.

“Ew,” I pushed him away but I was laughing. Dallas snapped his teeth at me. “Sorry, I don’t like people touching my hair.”

He looked down. Dallas hooked my neck in his elbow and (annoyingly) ruffled my hair like a relative would do to me. I had to reach down and grab his groin for him to stop.
“HEY!” Dallas laughed.

“Don’t touch.” I jumped on his back and started ruffling his hair. “Unless you want me to cut this off.”

“It’s beautiful, so don’t touch me!”

I dug my fingers into his thick hair then messed it up, but Dallas kept moving his head from my grip. We were walking down the hallway, so we probably looked very stupid. Dallas pulled me back to my feet and hooked his hand behind my neck to pull me close.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” he grinned.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I replied, running ahead to race him.

Dallas broke out running after me, and we made it to the dorms much faster than expected. I reached up then ran my fingers through his hair once more.
“Thank you for saving me from a terrible hangover,” Dallas chuckled.

“Anytime. And, thank you for touching my hair like a creep,” I smiled.

He kissed the top of my head and sent me on my way. Now, this circle: it’d be fairly easy to cast Tao—since she had one affinity to control. But me, that would be a bit different because I had never done all four. Hmm.

Heading into the kitchen for my brown pop, questions swarmed around in my head, but, I wasn’t that freaked out about the circle. Hell, I’d seen someone cast one, and call their powers, but any other time, it hadn’t really crossed my mind. I was still gonna do it. And, Tao had to call her own. She texted me earlier and said that she read some stuff in the library, so she somewhat knew what we were doing.

I walked upstairs to our room then saw Tao walking down from the other hall.
“Hey,” she called out.

“Hey.” I waited a few seconds for her to catch up. She looped her arm with mine and we continued walking. “So are you excited to cast this circle?”

“Actually, I am very excited. I told my mom, and, since she’s such a softy, she freaked out. But I told her that I was okay, and we were doing the circle tonight.”

“Oh, good. Well, it’s 6 right now… So, be ready at 9pm, and we’ll have enough time.”

Tao nodded and opened the door for us. I went straight to my nightstand then started searching around for my lavender batch that Nana gave me, and I needed the eucalyptus. They both smelled really good. And together, that’s like Jesus touched my nostrils. I grabbed my four candles, and Tao handed me hers.
“Thank you.” I put the candles together on my desk with a silver lighter.

Oh! I almost forgot about the candle Giovanni gave me! While I was getting the stuff together, Tao had taken the time to braid the lavender and eucalyptus together in one long strand.
“Heh, thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome. This smells amazing,” Tao replied.

“Imagine what it smells like burning.”

Tao smiled and handed me the braid. By time it was 9pm, we were gently putting the stuff in one of Tao’s bags so we could leave for Ria. 200.

When we found the circle to stop at, I looked at Tao and reached into the blue bag. I sat the candles and lavender against a tree then Tao drew a circle in the air with her cold hand.
“This is the circle,” she explained.

“Alright. So, these four trees”— I pointed to the four gigantic oaks—”will keep the barrier.”

“Kay.”

Tao and I decided for her to cast first, so we grabbed all the blue candles and put them North, East, South and West to create a perfect cross. I lit the lavender, then motioned for her to step into the middle of the circle. Clearing my throat, I stepped into the little opening and began:
“I call for Ice to join our circle, and give back the gelid powers to Tao…” I rotated around the entire circle, waving the burning strand through the air. Tao sat in the middle of the circle, with her eyes locked on all of my movements.

I lit the first candle and continued, “Ice for integrity, Tao doesn’t even have to try.”

Second candle. “To be creative, and not to lose our spark, Ice for Imagination.”

The third one seemed to glow brighter. “Ice for Importance.”

When I lit the fourth, I could feel it. The short jolt of energy that ran down my spine. But, it wasn’t a regular energy—it was chilly and made goosebumps appear on my skin. “Ice for Individuality because no one’s the same. I call Ice to this circle!”

I quickly left the circle and closed it back up with a rock. (For a beginner, I said that beautifully.) All of the candles’ lights whipped up, and grew in size until Tao looked like she had four lamps around her. There was an energy. A light blue, glowing energy that ran candle to candle and cast a light upon Tao’s body. She was pretty much glowing herself. But, Tao had her eyes closed, and it was obvious that she was taking deep breaths, to inhale the faint scent of lavender, and to be more connected to her powers. We read in the book that using a part of the affinity was important to the circle, so, I clutched my water bottle, and screwed open the top. There was just ice in here. I grabbed all of the little cubes, then threw them into the circle with Tao and I was shocked. Shocked by how the ice just attracted to her, like Tao had magnets in her hands. She clutched them in her palms, and I saw the glow from her back. Her Maxi. Tao’s black top gave me a good view of her upper back and the light blue icicles glew a dark blue, and I knew it was from the Ice. Damn, she looked so calm and relaxed.

The candles whipped out, and everything was still. No glowing Maxi. No energy connecting the candles. A relaxed Tao. The air was very chilly, and I had an idea why. She opened her eyes, then grinned at me.
“That was great. But it’s your turn.”

I weakly smiled and nodded.

Tao stood up, then fixed her long hair—the Ice and wind had made it a bit messy. She picked up the blue candles, and I placed the Elements in their spaces. Air was West, Fire was South, Water was East, and Earth was North. I had the purple candle in my hand as I stepped into the middle of the circle. Spirit was the center. Tao cleared her throat then smiled at me.
“Sit down, and relax,” she said.

I plopped down Indian-style then put the Spirit candle in between my legs. Here we go…. Tao relit the braid, then waved around the air.
“I call the Five Elements to join our circle, and bestow the importance of our powers upon Eris,” she gently said as she circled the space.

Tao finished purifying then walked to the Air candle.
“I call Air to this circle. We breathe it in our first breaths, so it is only right that it be the first Element called. Come to her, Air!”

Breezy.

Second candle was Fire.
“Fire warms us with its passionate flame. I call Fire to this circle!”

Hot.

She sauntered around to Water then grinned.
“Water is a perfect balance to flame, just as Eris is a perfect balance to soccer. I call Water to this circle!”

Cool.

Earth would be quadruple thee best.
“Earth supports us and nurtures us. As the fourth Element, I call Earth to this circle!”

Grass.

Quickly moving, Tao crossed over to me and nodded.
“It’s within all of us, important and soothing. I call Spirit to this circle.”

Relaxation.

I felt a jolt of energy run down my body, and I shut my eyes. The water…. air…. fire…. spirit…. earth.

My ears were filled with the crashing of waves against the beach shore.
It felt as if I was laying in the grass, with flowers and tall trees around me.
The warmth of a fireplace on a cold Christmas night made me happy and bubbly inside.
Wind was whipping through my hair, like the strongest tornado ever was approaching.
Mmm…. I was relaxed, and it felt like nothing mattered except for being calm, and alone.

Waves of power and relaxation rushed through my body, making me feel so…. Like everything was in place. I could feel the heat, the warmth of a blazing fire. I could feel the cool breeze softly blowing in the spring. I could feel water running down my body in the shower. And I could definitely feel cool, calm and collected emotions filling my brain. Inhale, exhale. In and out. Take and give. There was a fluttery feeling in my lower stomach. My Maxi was glowing. Gently placing my hand on my navel, I could feel how warm, and how powerful my Maxi was. Damn.

Before I could move again, my eyes shot open and I saw the energy. Whoa…. Red, blue, white, purple, and a green energy twirled together between the candles. It kinda startled me by how close the energy was to touching my body, there was no telling what could happen. Tao had tossed five sheer scarves into the circle: one to represent each Element. But, even touching the scarves, it made me radiant to feel the power charging through my body…. like my old self was back…. and it felt as if I had never lost the power. Though I’d been in the circle for a minor time, it was like an eternal event, that nothing compared to.

The energy slowly dispersed… leaving me alone in the circle. The candles whipped out, and we were left with soft scents of nature, and the melted wax. Tao glared at me.
“That felt like heaven,” I breathed.

“See? I know a thing or two about casting circles,” she giggled as she cleared up our supplies.

I stood up, grabbed my candles and broke the annulus we created with large rocks. The circle was cleared and gone, just the scent of lavender and eucalyptus remained in the silent air. Tao snatched her bag up then we headed back to the dorms. I felt relaxed. Calm. And I hadn’t felt this way in a looooooong time; my powers had been gone.
“Thanks,” Tao abruptly said. “That was completely amazing.”

“You’re very welcome. Yeah, I didn’t know what Spirit would feel like until then,” I responded.

“Hmph, I felt a bit of Water while I was in the circle…. Is that normal?” She gave me a confused look.

“Well, it is Ice and ice is just frozen, expanded water.” I paused. “It’s not your strength, but Water still exists within it.”

Tao nodded. It was 10:30pm, and I had to make a stop at the library, so I alerted Tao to proceed back to the dorms. When I entered the library, Zara waved me over to the front desk.
“Did you finish the book?” she smiled as bright as the sun.

“Zara, that book is well over one-thousand pages, I can’t finish four in one night,” I lightly chuckled. Zara was known for finishing books in less than two days.

“Well, you can always try. Haha, what are you looking for?”

“Uhm—”

I was cut off by a hand wrapping around my midriff. It was Dallas, and he winked down at me to show he meant no harm.
“Hi,” he sweetly smiled.

I shook it off then turned back to Zara. “Spirit, please. Tao and I cast our circles.”

Zara’s eyes went wide. “Really?! That’s great!”

Dallas hooked his finger in the waistband of my jeans and kept me against his body while Zara searched for the book. She handed me a book thicker than I could fully grasp.
“Keep this, too. Was all well?” Zara curiously asked.

“Great”— I shoved the book at Dallas. “I called Spirit, too, so it was way different! Tao said she felt Water when hers was called.”

“Ah, that’s good! Have you any idea when you’ll cast another?”

“No, but, I really wanna shoot for next month. But, I’m not so sure on a date for next month.”

Zara gave a single nod. She looked past me then said, “Dallas, have you cast your circle yet?”

“No, what am I gonna cast for?” Dallas raised an eyebrow.

“Mister, you could cast for anything. It may not be as important to your strength, but it’d be a good idea. Yellow candles would suit you.”

Dallas curled his lip up. “I don’t like yellow.”

“Why not purple?” Zara gave a smirk but Dallas rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Dallas. Purple would be nice.”

“Purple’s for girls,” he grumbled. “And, I’m not that feminine.”

“To me you are,” I smiled.

Zara waved us off while she laughed. “Get out of here. Eris, keep that if you need.”

We walked away and Dallas followed me out of the library. While walking, he switched hands and palmed my backside with his strong grip.
“Hey!”

Dallas gave me an innocent look. “Ass is class, hun.”

I rolled my eyes when he tried to kiss my cheek. Dallas hooked the side of my neck and planted a big kiss on my temple. I made an unattractive groan.
“You love me,” he whispered against my skin.

“Who says? I could be playing,” I grumbled, playfully pushing him off.

“Oh, don’t fib to yourself. So, how did the circle go?”

“AMAZING! I almost freaked out when it almost touched me!”

Dallas frowned. “What is the ‘it’?”

“Energy,” I smartly answered.

“Ah, that. How’d it go for Tao?”

“Great, she really liked it. And, to purify, we used the lavender Nana gave me for Christmas, and found some eucalyptus.”

“Huh, cool. Do me a favor: cast me a circle with red candles and tell me how it goes.” Dallas flashed his half smile.

“No, baby.” I pushed his arm. “You have to do it for yourself, tell me how it goes. I’ll even help you.” I smiled up into his regular blue eyes.

“But that’s too much wooooork.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and we continued walking. Dallas stopped in front of the glass doors of the dorms, then looked down at me. He handed the book over.
“Damn,” I huffed as it dropped into my arms.

“Do you want me to carry it up? You’re kinda weak, Avatar.” Avatar was his nickname for me because I controlled the Elements, but Air was my favorite. Dallas stuck his hands out for the book and I just kicked his leg. “Ow, what the sh—”

“Hah. What’s that you said to me that one day… Don’t be a smartass, it triggers others to be an even smarter ass. Now I’m gonna say something: Don’t be a smartass, it triggers people to kick you!”

Dallas rolled his eyes before claiming my mouth. He cupped my neck as he bent down… pulling me closer to his delicious lips. We were standing by one of the picnic tables, so I put the book down and reacted with my arms around his shoulders.
“God, I want sex,” Dallas moaned.

“Not appropriate,” I giggled, gently nibbling his lower lip.

Dallas stuck his tongue into my mouth and I let out a quiet moan. He cupped my ass, then effortly lifted me off of the ground. I could tell he had been drinking cold water because his tongue felt like ice in my mouth, but it was the type of feeling that made my tummy flutter, and my heart become more of his. I wrapped my legs around his waist and Dallas slid his hands under my shirt, cupping my breasts and working his hand under my bra. He managed to squeeze my nipples, which made me wetter and my moaning get louder.
“Come back with me,” Dallas said on my lips. He teased his tongue on the hoops in my ear, and I groaned his name in pleasure.

“I’m sorry. But, I gotta go,” I smiled.

Dallas kissed my ear and whispered, “Fine, I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye,” I smiled. He let me go and I walked up to my dorm.

Our hallway was pretty quiet, and Tao was laying down in her bed with a Sprite in her left hand. She looked up then nodded.
“Hey,” I wiggled my fingers.

“Hey. What’d you get at the library?” she asked. I handed her the Spirit book. “Oh, makes sense.”

“Yeah. What really makes sense is some sleep.”

I quickly showered, then came back out to lay down. Boing jumped onto my pillow and laid on my face. Her white fur got into my teal hair, and she decided to rest her tail on my neck.
“Can you move?” My voice was muffled by her body.

Eiee-ei-eeeie.

“Is that a no?”

Ei-ei-eeeeeeeeie!

Okay, that’s a no. By time Boing got back to bed, I was gasping for air and trying not to choke on her butt. I moved her to the side a bit then took the desired breaths. From across the room, Tao had her head propped up on her wrist while she watched me suffer.
“Damn,” I breathed.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re dying,” she giggled.

“Maybe I am.”

Tao laid down and Boing scooched her tush onto my shoulder. It took me a while to get over the fact that Boing had her ass all on me, but I eventually blacked out and fell into the world of my dreams.
====
Another great sleep, but terrible awakening. I was in the climax of my dream when my phone invaded. I was swimming in the middle of the ocean, with sharks circling around me, and I was following after a mermaid who looked exactly like my mother. The faint, muffled, distorted sound of the annoying tri-tone from my cellphone made me start to choke on water, and that’s when I woke up. I grabbed the device and saw who it was.
“Hey, Dad,” I sighed.

“Hello, are you still sleeping? You’re too young to sleep so late,” he replied. (Sounded a lot like my last dream.)

“Eh, yeah, what desires my attention?”

Before Dad could answer, I realized that Tao was on the phone with her mom. Lying down in the same position as me, and answering the same damn questions.
“Tao should be talking with Sumiko, but we need you two down at Ria. 42, we have something,” he explained.

“Okay.” We said our goodbyes then hung up.

I made my way blurrily to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water, trying to shock some awake into me. Tao walked in, then did the exact same thing. We brushed our teeth together, brushed our hair in the mirror and freshened up to leave.

Tao pulled on some low-rise jeans, with a crocheted top and her boots. I put on my shorts, a Nike tee shirt and wrapped my hair in a high ponytail. We quickly left the dorms and headed to our parents at the high school. Entering the front foyer, I could see Dad descending the right staircase from the upper-Professor floor.
“Hi, girls.” He bent down and kissed us both. “Upstairs.”

“Are we gonna be like, temporary Professors?” Tao muttered.

“Or guinea pigs,” I added.

“That second one,” Dad smiled. He opened the big glass door and we ducked under his arm into the hallway. Dad led us down the never-ending hallway, all the way to an open door where Chryseis, Sumiko and Professor Nolan were talking.
“Hello,” Tao and I half-stated, half-asked.

“Merry meet.” Chryseis bowed to us. “If you’re wondering why I’m here: it’s because I was the one to ask Nolan.”

“Oh, Chryseis, taking all the credit,” Sumiko laughed and winked at her.

“Hello, girls.” Professor Nolan crossed to us and shook our hands. He had dull yellow hair, with the brightest yellow eyes like a dragon. With an affinity for Reptiles, he had a Maxi on his neck that reminded me of scales, and I loved looking at it. “I know about your powers, and I think I can help,” he said.

Tao raised an eyebrow but I spoke first: “The thought ritual?”

“That’s it. It’s like a polygraph test, but, not all answers have to be verbal. I’ll be able to see your thoughts and words, it’s pretty fun to watch and fun to experience.” Nolan gave us a light smile. For a guy almost 6”10, he was like a cuddly giant. (Rian men were fucking tall, I had no idea why it was necessary.)

“Oh. Okay,” Tao and I dumbly said.

Nolan looked at our parents and Chryseis. “Er vew jiu zau quero?” They nodded and Nolan turned back to us. “Follow me.”

I directed Tao to the door and we followed Nolan out of the Professor hall. Very tall was all I could say to describe him. Anyway, he took us downstairs and through the halls toward the extra courtyard back there. Nolan pushed open the steel doors, and we were welcomed to an open concrete Yard—much bigger than our regular ones. I knew this place was used for rituals and whatnot.

“Sit on two sides,” Nolan said.

Tao went right; I went left (dominant hand). Nolan uncloaked a small table and I could see the stuff on the top: a candle, a knife and… I had no idea what that mason jar was for.

“Okay, girls. I wanna explain a few things before y’all freak. First, the candle is so I can recite the ritual, second, the knife is for blood, third, the jar is literally for catching important thoughts—” hold up, did he say catch our thoughts?! Nolan turned to me.

“Yes, I did, Eris.” (I knew the Professors could technically read minds—one of the reasons I was such a bad liar to Dad.) “Now, I’m gonna need a strand of hair from you two. Or, are your precious locks too important?” he grinned.

Tao plucked a small hair from her hair, I did the same. Nolan brought them to the table and smiled. “Now comes the blood. Arms or hands.”

I stuck my hand out and he pricked my finger; it stung, but the blade felt kinda good. Nolan dabbed the scarlet line with his own finger, then smeared it on his wrist. And the exact same with Tao. He stood behind the table once more, then began:
“Ner awq loh b’pina, sir fsut ca xixi munn,” Nalan pricked his own finger with the blade. “Dfe de dugn d’sance. Ca huj ecza Perlo!” Wow. I shivered and that was the last thing I remembered.

In what felt like two minutes later, I sat back up and looked directly at Tao. Before I could say anything, Nolan spoke, “Good to have you back, don’t say a word. Just think.”

I didn’t say anything. Tao looked at me and my mouth dropped…. her thoughts were floating around her in purple, blue and white.

Eris? Do you feel weird? Nolan, why does my head hurt? Damn, my head feels like shit. I need to talk.

She was looking back at me with the same expression. So I had thoughts, too?! Damn! Nolan cleared his throat and sat down between us.
“Girls, I want you to say one word a piece. See what happens,” he sighed.

“Hi,” Tao quickly replied. The word came out in a shimmery, sapphire blue fog.

“Eris.” The same fog appeared in front of me! Haha, this was fun!

“Okay, say four bad words. Cursing or a negative word,” Nolan said.

“Bad. Fuck. Lonely. Upset.” My words came out in a dull, dark silver fog.

“Good. Tao, say four things that are either happy or uplifting.” Nolan turned his eyes to her.

“Flowers. Ice. Dogs. Rainbows,” Tao’s words came out in a cute, fairy purple color. She smiled.

Nolan stood up then went back behind the table. “Since your powers are gone, we’re gonna use this to assist on getting them back. So, say or think anything you want, but, it has to be related to your power or any theories y’all have about them being missing. Get it, got it, good?”

“Get it, got it, good,” we repeated, admiring the blue fog. Nolan quickly sat the jar between our bodies then stepped back. I started thinking about how my powers got taken away, or how Tao’s did.

Two hours later, I was sitting in my bed and listening to music when there was a knock on the door.
“What?” I called out.

There were five rhythmic knocks—that was Giovanni. I quickly got up then swung the door open.
“Hey,” she signed.

I was shocked to see Dallas behind her.
“He wants to hang.” Giovanni exaggerated the signs then gave a sexual gesture.

“Oh so inappropriate,” I laughed.

She looked up at Dallas and he bowed to her.
“Thanks,” he said.

“Anytime.” (Giovanni could talk, but she liked to sign more.)

Dallas let her pass by then stepped into my dorm; he let out a wolf whistle. I hit his back.
“Grow up,” I grumbled.

“Damn, girl.” He pointed at the soccer posters above my bed, and the Fire/Water/Earth/Air ones by my closet. Dallas was gazing at the Hope Solo poster when Boing nuzzled his leg, making him jump back with a startled expression.

“Awh, you’re such a girl.” I bent down and picked up Boing. “It’s called a chinchilla: slightly bigger than a ground squirrel, and, her name is Boing. Hold her.” Dallas gently took Boing and she started exploring his neck area.

I had to change, so I yanked off my top and ran to the closet. Over the rows and rows of clothes, I just picked a basic white tee shirt then tossed my hair behind my shoulders. Dallas was sitting on my bed, laughing and playing with Boing while she scurried over the bedspread.
“Okay, we can go,” I announced.

Dallas looked at me. “Can we stay here?”

“Baby, you know you’re gonna be in a dorm… With 17 and 18 year old girls… Who like dicks… And you’re old…”

“I am not old, does it look like I have wrinkles? And, okay,” he chuckled. “But, can we bring this along?” Dallas waved at Boing like she was some grand prize.

I nodded and he sprang up with Boing in his left hand. Dallas waved to Mikey and Mumble then shut the door behind us. As we walked downstairs, I told him about Nolan performing the ritual on Tao and I.
“Hey, I want something to drink,” I said.

Dallas redirected me to the kitchen and I went to the fourth fridge. I could tell some of the girls were watching us talk; I felt their intense glares.
“Are you ready?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah, sure.” I took one last gulp of my brown pop then kicked the can into the recycling bin.

Dallas led me out of the glass doors and the cool breeze hit me. Very refreshing cool breeze. Since our pets could find us easily If they ever ran off, Dallas sat Boing onto the ground and she walked the other way as Dallas headed toward Ria. 200.
“So,” I asked, “what are we gonna be doing?”

“A walk,” Dallas replied.

“A walk? Since when do we go walking together? Is that like, some date?”

“No. It’s called I’m tired of not seeing the sun, so a walk.” He huffed out of his nose at me.

“Oh. Okay, walks are fun.” I smiled and tried to kiss his temple but Dallas pulled back.

He walked ahead then started running through the trees. I weaved around, and I saw him maneuver through the trees on my left.
“Dallas, it’s not funny,” I laughed.

“Then why are you laughing?” His sexy voice came from behind.

I stood still as he approached. “Because I can laugh at myself.”

Dallas snaked his arms around my midriff and pulled me back to him. He bent my head back, then kissed me good and hard.
“Hola,” I smiled up.

“Hey, Avatar. Come on,” he said as he let go of me. Dallas slipped his finger into the waistband of my shorts and kept me close while we walked further into the trees. Ten minutes into the walk, I slipped my hand under the hem of his tee shirt, and caressed his warm skin while Dallas attempted to push me off.
“Stop,” he grumbled.

“Why?” I purred, moving lower to his groin.

Dallas eventually pushed me off, so I walked with a big pout on, trying to make him give in.

He gave me a gigantic kiss when I noticed we had made it to the stream. The stream had two sides, and we were on the other side from where Aya started coughing and dying. But, this side had a massive hill behind us, and I could easily jump into the water. I was skipping rocks when I felt his hands on my shirt.
“Ah, what’re you—” the shirt came over my head. Dallas shoved my back.

“Get in,” he said.

“Baby, I don’t want to—”

He picked me up and I kicked my feet into the air, making my sandals fall to the grass. “Dallas! Stoppp!” Dallas brought me into the water and I gasped at how cold it felt on my warmed skin.

He put me on my feet but I was waving my arms around like an idiot at how gelid the water was. Dallas had his shirt off, and I was trying not to stare as I warmed up to the water.
“Have you ever been in here before?” Dallas asked, lightly pushing water on my stomach.

“No, but I’m guessing you have,” I replied.

Dallas nodded. “Come here, I wanna show you something.”

He took a few steps away into the water, but I hesitated before following. Dallas led me further downstream, until the water was just at the curve of my covered breasts. He went over to the wall then turned around to me.
“How long can you hold your breath?”

“1 minute, 23 seconds,” I replied. (Last time my friends took me swimming, we had a contest… And I was on the swim team for six years.)

“Okay. I’m gonna grab your hand, and you have to come under with me,” he explained. I nodded and Dallas grabbed my hand under the water. He dove under and I swam after him into a small, opening under the big rock wall. He popped up, so did I.

“Where the hell are we?” I panted, slicking my hair behind my shoulders.

“No one except for me and the Twins know this is here,” Dallas gently said.

The water came up to my shoulders, but Dallas had a bit of an advantage. He leaned back against the wall then looked at me. The space was big enough for probably two more people to fit in, the rock ceiling was about 7 feet up, and the water rushed into the walls.
“How do you know about this?” I asked.

“I used to come here all the time, when I still lived with the bitches,” he mumbled, looking around the water.

“Ya mean, Dayton and Dakota?”

He nodded. “I don’t come a lot, but, I make sure no one else finds it.” He smiled at me. “I guess you’re another person to know.”

“I guess,” I smiled back.

He crossed over to me and pushed me back against the cold stone, brushing his lips over mine and pressing flat against my body. (Thank God I was tall because I would probably be struggling to keep my head above the rushing water.) Dallas peered down at my bra; his lip curled into a smile.
“I’ll save you for later,” he said.

“Later? Psh,” I pushed the side of his face.

Dallas kissed my chest then whispered, “You taste good.”

I couldn’t say anything. His finger was trailing down my stomach, stopping to trace my Maxi and play with my navel. Dallas put his hand on my nape then started to kiss my neck, using his tongue to tease my skin.
“Baby… Mmm,” I moaned, running my fingers through his hair.

From the water, I could really feel how hard Dallas was—and how his dick was pushing into my lower stomach. I reached down, then softly massaged him through the fabric of his shorts. Before I could even wiggle into his boxers, Dallas stopped me.
“W-wait,” he said. I looked into his eyes (which were dark brown at the moment), and saw the lust in his soft pupils. “Follow me. I know somewhere.”

Dallas let his erection settle then led us out of the cave, and back out into the stream. He swam over to the shore and lifted himself out of the water, then turned around and helped me out.
“There’s a place up here,” Dallas said. He looked at the hill that had tall trees and grass and plants growing, then grabbed my hand so we could run. In a matter of minutes, Dallas had me at the top of the hill and kissing on my neck.

He cupped my ass, and ran his hand between my legs. I’d never imagined having sex outside, but with Dallas, I knew that it would be fun. He gently pushed me onto the ground then laid on top of me. Dallas grinded his hard on into me, putting his hand on the side of my neck to hold me still as he sucked and nipped on my racing pulse.
“Ahhh, babe… Ohh,” I panted, locking my legs on his back.

Dallas pulled back a bit and, with the gentlest touch, he unhooked my bra and pushed it off my shoulders to let my bobbs spill out. He didn’t pay much attention to my breasts before moving down my stomach to give my Maxi open mouthed kisses. He used his tongue to trace a pattern around my navel, with my hands on either side of his head and my hips grinding on his mouth.

One thing I’d never seen on Dallas before last week was his tattoo. Not his Maxi, but when he was 18, he got a tattoo of a horseshoe behind his left ear. Dallas usually cloaked it so no one saw, but he must’ve forgotten that day. And hell, I liked a guy with ink.

I lifted my ass a bit, and Dallas eased my shorts down my legs then threw them to the side. My already soaking wet pussy was heated and leaking with my juices for him; Dallas teased by rubbing me through my panties.
“Mmm,” I quietly panted, biting my lip and tilting my head back.

He dug his fingers into me a bit, and I almost freaked from how good it felt. A good two minutes into doing that, Dallas eased my panties to the side and played with my clit, lightly tapping and rubbing me. He snatched my panties down in one grab, then rubbed his thumb over my damp folds. I was gonna say something, all until he was pushing his finger a few centimeters into my me and wiggled around.

My mouth was open, but there was no sound. Dallas started massaging my tit in one hand, while he teased me with the other. As he grazed and maneuvered around all my damp pussy and aching flesh I went a little crazy; I arched my back high and moaned his name aloud. His fingertips forced into my pussy, but Dallas would pull back out then rub my thighs. He worked my boob in circles, pinching and playing with my nipples every few seconds or so. Dallas waited… he paused… stopped moving. Then it happened.

His finger pushed all the way into me, and I gasped at the sudden feeling, and he squeezed my chest again. Dallas had his middle finger pumping into me, to make me feel just right and just turned on. But, his hand was massaging me like never before; with a strong grip and his finger toying with my nipple. Dallas added another finger, then that was all I needed to start moaning and screaming again.
“Aghhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhh!”

If someone heard us, it was highly unlikely that they’d find us, because the place was completely concealed by trees. Dallas let out a moan with me when my pussy contracted, and he added another finger. Damn. His hand was vigorously squeezing and touching my breast, and honestly, I needed to touch myself too. I moved my hand down to my clit, and I rubbed myself harder as his fingers rapidly pumped into me. To have Dallas fingering me…. massaging my breasts…. and making me feel so, empowered. Dallas always touched me how he wanted, but he knew what made me hot (I mean, he did take my virginity and he taught me what he liked). As his fingers curled inside of me, I was moaning and exploring my body just as he was.

I placed my hand atop his, and squeezed and caressed my breasts. And hell, this felt good! Especially how Dallas was touching me. While he touched me, Dallas kissed on my stomach and played with my Maxi; his tongue trailed up the ink and to the curve of my breasts. He teased by lightly kissing on my areola, then moving back down.
“Dallas,” I half-panted, half-laughed.

He didn’t answer or react. Dallas pulled his fingers from inside of me and I opened my mouth to protest, but Dallas started kissing my inner thighs. He got closer and closer to my awaiting sex, but Dallas was trying his hardest not to touch, shit, he was teasing too much! And it felt kinda good…. I put my hands in his almost-white hair and forced him closer to my pussy. Dallas reached under me then pinched my outer thigh to make me stop.
“Mmm, please,” I begged. Dallas continued his torturous kisses on my legs. All while this torture was going on, Dallas’ cock was probably aching him to be freed; he’d been hard for a while. With a quick swoop of my leg, I pinned Dallas onto his back and bent down to his waist. Pushing my hair to the side so he could have a better view, I undid his jeans (being careful not to hurt the vital parts of his anatomy) and released the prize I’d been waiting for.

I kept my eyes locked on his as I took a long, teasing lick at his shaft. Dallas tossed his head back then let out a groan; I was getting him riled up… His eyes drew back to mine and I teased the tip with a big kiss. Okay, I knew Dallas hated teasing, and I deliberately looked at him with a sexy gleam in my eyes, and kept him waiting for me to suck him dry. He balled a fist in my hair as I swirled my tongue down his length. I was getting tired of the teasing as much as he, so I wrapped my hand around his thick cock and took him into my mouth. Dallas caressed my hair, and I could feel his body detense.

I used my tongue to lick the underside while my lips devoured more and more of him, all while pumping my fist after my mouth. I started to bob my head, and Dallas moaned to imply his satisfaction.
“Stop,” he firmly said. I wasn’t expecting that, but I lifted my eyes to his and sucked more.

Dallas tightened his grip in my hair then pulled me away from his cock. Fuck. I climbed up his body, straddled his hips and looked into his flaming blue eyes. As I sank down onto his hard shaft, we both let out different curse words, and I planted my hands flat on his chest. My hips slowly rocked on him, but Dallas was thinking something different; he grabbed my hips and starting ramming into me.
“Ughhhh, Dallas! Fuck, I’m cumming!”

Wow, was I that easy with him? Well, Dallas did get me close when he fingered me, and that blowjob had me on edge.

As my orgasm hit, I didn’t want to sound like I was dying, so I clamped my hand down over my mouth to stifle my reaction as the world kaleidoscoped into brilliant color in every direction. Dallas grabbed my hands and I had to scream out. He must’ve been getting close because Dallas slammed into me harder. So hard that I had to grip the grass beneath us to keep from falling. I scoochied a bit higher, so Dallas started licking and playing with my boobs.

Dallas used his teeth to lightly nibble on me, and his tongue to trace my areola. My hair was falling over my arm, but Dallas’ tongue was killing me; rolling and teasing and flicking my nipple.
His hands firmly squeezed my midriff as he moaned out his orgasm. And I was reaching another. In less than three seconds, I was yelling his name all while announcing my climax, and his cum shot high inside of my womb.

My chest was flat against his; I could barely breathe as I rode wave after wave of passion and lust and relaxation running out of my body. He caught his breath and said, “That’s another thing off my bucket list: have an amazing orgasm outside.”

I hit his chest before saying, “Shush. Hurry, we need to go and get our other stuff.”

I craned my neck, then reached over Dallas’ waist and grabbed my panties. He was trying not to stare while I slid them on, but it was kinda obvious to see his green eyes cutting into my body.
“Dallas, are you staring?” I said over my shoulder.

“Just a little, but, it’s no big deal.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

I quickly stepped into my shorts and pulled on my bra then turned around to him. He finished pulling his jeans back on then jerked his head toward the trees. Dallas led the way back down the hill, keeping his fingers interlock with mine. We stopped at the end of the grassy area.
“Walk or swim?” Dallas asked.

“Swim.” If anything, I was not going to walk over taking a nice dip.

“Since you say so…” Dallas pushed me into the cold water (it felt especially cold since I was raw from the sex).

I clenched my teeth then let out a hiss. “Get in, I can’t take all the suffering,” I said.

Dallas took his sweet time getting back into the water, obviously attempting to make me suffer even more. After he was in, I quickly dove under then swam the other way with him behind me. In five short minutes, we were where we first came in, and I could see our loose clothing articles. Dallas tossed my shirt to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I yanked it down over my head. We stepped into our shoes and shook our wet bodies (I was more like a cat; Dallas was a dog).

“Come on.” He jerked his hand out to me and I proceeded by wrapping my arm under his. Dallas smelt good. Really good. And his hair was still wet from the water, and it made him look younger. No matter how sexy and mountainous Dallas was, he always reminded me of a little kid; he just had this little spark. Especially that dimple in his right cheek; it made his smile brighter and younger. As we walked, he started a conversation:
“What are you doing later?”

I thought for a second. “Nothing really, probably watch a movie.”

“Hm. Okay,” Dallas flatly said. (If someone asks a question like that, shouldn’t they offer to hang out?) I was thinking about my question when Dallas asked, “Do you want to come over?”

“I’d love to.” I grinned but he just rolled his eyes. “When did you ever become so generous?”

Dallas gave my butt a hard smack (he was really an ass guy). He broke from my embrace, then turned around to me and walked backwards.
“I’ve been generous all my life. I just don’t need any help,” Dallas smirked.

“Oh, please. You’re as generous as a rock,” I laughed, trying to throw him off—which I did.

“A rock? How don’t you know that rocks are really nice, they just don’t like you?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly. We don’t know if you’re actually nice, we just know that you’re a smartass.”

Dallas rolled his eyes and we continued walking.
====
Tao ran her cold fingers through my hair. “What the hell?!” I whispered.
“It was messed up,” she mouthed.

It was Monday, and we were sitting in Riate, listening to Brice talk about someone’s mom. The classrooms were all designed like the ones in college: a bunch of stairs, a gigantic-ass row of seats. And, we always sat in the last row back. Tao kicked her feet onto the desk and I gave her a sharp look; she pulled them down.

After Riate, the rest of the day zoomed by, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the library with all five of my books open on the table. In Spirit, I was reading about how it’s almost like a natural high when I cast a circle. Air was telling me about the power to “mist” myself—when I think about being invisible, and I pretty much become invisible. The thing that shocked me the most was what the back said:

Any and all of the Elements together will give one eternal powers…. Tusnced.

It said it was in another book! I trotted off to the front desk then smiled at Zara.
“Yes, darling?” she nonchalantly said. Her nose was in another book.

“Okay, uhm, I need a book. And, I think it is called Tusnced, for all of the powers,” I beamed. Another power would be so cool.

“Oh!” Zara tossed her book to the side and stood up. “Follow me, I’ll show you.” She waved a hand out and I followed her to the back room.

Bookshelves was all I saw. Dizam. I knew there were more books, but gosh! And Zara had read every single one—cover to cover! She walked me to a far bookshelf then sauntered down the narrow aisle. Zara stopped in front of frivehugic-thick books and seized them from the shelf.

“Tusnced, Reaxced, Quacvced, Fzaesced and Lopced. I highly suggest you finish these soon, they’ll be much help to you. I know you’re a bit troubled with non-existent powers, but, they’ll always come back. Here,” she smiled.

I thought I was holding a live human. “Thank you,” I weakly smiled. “Now, I’m gonna leave before I die of muscle strain.”

Zara chuckled as I quickly left the back room. Kicking the door closed behind me, I headed back to my work area, and I saw Dad down the bookshelf aisle. He was searching for something particular. I sat the books down then ran down to him.
“Hi.” I smiled.

Dad glanced at me. “Hello, Eris. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be finishing homework—”

“Finished. Now I’m studying.”

“Oh, ok. Well, you’re a bookworm, so, what are you studying? It has to be something interesting,” Dad smiled. His green eyes sparkled at me.

“My powers. Ya remember how Tao and I cast the circles? Well, I added Spirit, and, now I’m curious and reading the books Zara gave me. Oh, there’s another power that has to do with them, but that comes when I’m older.”

Dad nodded as he grabbed a book. “Hmph, that’s good.” He grinned at me. “Did you tell Nolan happy birthday?”

“32 and counting, though he looks 18,” I winked up at Dad.

“Eris, you must be attracted to older men.”

My eyes got wide, but Dad kept his gaze light-hearted, and I could see he was trying to hide a smile. “Dad! Not appropriate,” I scoffed, playfully punching his arm.

“You’re right, that wasn’t nice. Well, do you remember my 22-year rule?” he asked.

“OhmyGod, Dad. Please stop.” I cradled my face in my hands. I took a deep breath then answered, “No babies, or cutting my hair until I’m 22.”

Dad patted my shoulder. “Bingo. Now, I have to go and meet with a Prof. Bye, kiddo.” He kissed my cheek and left.

Damn, I really hated his rules. No, let me reword that: that rule got annoying. Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna have any baby-Daddy-drama for sure, I did not want that type of life. And, I liked my hair like this. Thinking about how I’d appear with short hair, I walked back to my table and got back to the books. Hell, these four new books would take twice as long to read; I was estimating a mere 2,000 pages—long-ass pages–full of Riate terms. But, it still had some english. Twenty or so minutes into reading Reaxced, my phone buzzed loudly on the glass table.
Dallas: Where r u?

I snatched up my phone and replied.

Me: Not with u.
Dallas: Answr me
Me: Library
Dallas: good. I’ll b there

(Sigh) And, here comes Dallas. I replied then sat my phone back onto the table, continuing on my page. A few minutes later, there was a hand covering my eyes and a sexy humming over my head.
“Dallas…” I irritably said.

“Hello,” he replied, bending down and kissing my lips.

Dallas released me then went to the chair diagonally from me. I gave a fake smile and continued reading.
“May I ask what you’re reading?” he asked.

“No,” I flatly replied.

“That’s cool.” Dallas swiped a book from the table and started reading. “Why—”

“Ya know,” I interrupted, “for a man who doesn’t go to school, you sure as hell like to come to the library… and annoy me.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Eris. You make me proud, but, I wanted to know why you’re reading these. These have nothing to do with your strength.”

“Katniss, I didn’t ask for your input.”

“No, I was an archer before Katniss made it cool. But, would that make you my Peeta?”

“Yeah, I’m the one who choked you,” I grumbled.

Dallas bit his lip and shut up. But, he started humming soon after… his leg was going a million miles… and he was talking a lot… and his energy was through the roof…
“Are you okay?” I asked.

His blue eyes shot up. “Yeah, I’m just bored,” Dallas sighed.

“Well, go home and play with the sisters.”

“Govea got back late last night, and, Hannah and Harley don’t like me.” He laughed at himself.

“Oh, sorry. Well—” I sat up straight and put the book back on the table—“you could help me with these books. And, I think you should get an idea to cast your own circle soon.”

“Hell no, Eris. What do I need to cast circle for?”

“Uhm, for a lot of shit. You could rid yourself of smartass, you could be more connected to Archery, or, you could even get Hannah and Harley to be your friends!”

Dallas crossed over to my seat and switched places with me. He sat me in his lap then wrapped his arm around my backside. “Okay,” Dallas sighed. “Read, I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you! And, I’ll go get a book for you,” I squealed, hopping out of his lap and running back to the front desk.

Zara looked up at me as I asked for the book. She handed me a thick book called Lyacve, then I hurried back to Dallas. He had his face in my book, with his forearms resting on his knees. Dallas glanced up. “Got it?”

“Yup, but take it before I die,” I said, passing the large tome to him.

Dallas read a few pages then his eyes got wide as he looked me dead in the eye. “Did you know that I could bless a bow? I did not know that!”

“See? Perks of having an amazing Eris as your girlfriend.” I put my hands beneath my chin and sweetly smiled.

Dallas stuck his tongue out then continued reading.

Two hours later, we were still in the library, reading and noting some enthralling stuff in our books. Hell, I didn’t know that Dallas could read so fast; he made me feel slow. He had two of his own Archery books on the table, and I had mine on my side. I checked my watch: 7:32, so I had a bit of time before curfew. The good thing was that the library wasn’t all that crowded, and I liked the quiet air—except for Zara ruffling around papers a bookshelf behind us. Wait, what?
“Zara?” I called out.

“I’m just checking,” she called back.

“No, we’re not making out,” Dallas added, smiling at me.

I bit my lip then curled up with my book. Honestly, I had no idea that Dallas liked reading; he barely talked while he was focused on the text. Directly at 8:00, we closed our books at the same time.
“Don’t copy me,” I smirked, setting the book on the table.

“I’ll try to more often. So, did you eat?” he asked.

“No. Are you asking to buy me food?” I grabbed my chest and made my mouth a perfect o. “Nooooooo.”

Dallas mimicked me in his cute way. “Yes.”

I smiled then nodded. “I’d love to eat with you. Are you gonna take them books home?”

“Those, proper grammar.” Dallas made a face. “Yeah, come on.”

“Yeah isn’t a word. It’s yes.”

He curled his lip as we gathered our stuff. I had my cross-over bag with me, so I stuffed my books into it and Dallas carried his under his arm. (We would come off as a nerdy couple.) We said goodbye to Zara, but she was in the back room. Her head popped out.
“Bye, you two. Keep those if you need,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” Dallas replied, stepping through the door with me. We went to the cafe, grabbed some late dinner and talked for a bit before it was 9pm. Dallas walked me back to the dorms, then stopped to sit me down.
“I have to go somewhere soon,” he gently said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Louisiana. My cousin wants to see me, and, hunting. So, I just wanted to tell you before Wednesday—when I leave.”

I rolled my lips in and out. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you when you get back, ” I looked into his brown eyes.

“Yeah—Wait!” Dallas’ outburst scared me a bit. “Go upstairs, change, grab whatever, you’re staying at my place.”

“O-okay, but you didn’t have to scream.” I flicked his head and Dallas smiled. “Give me 10 minutes, and I swear I’ll be back.”

Dallas stood up. “Even better, I’ll head down for you. Hurry up.” He walked the other way and I darted inside.

Five minutes was all I was giving myself to change, grab clothes for tomorrow morning, and put my stuff away. Tao was in her bed, listening to Kenny and on her cellphone. She went bug-eyed when I started removing my clothes and running around.
“What are you doing?”

“Dallas,” I yelled from the closet.

Tao snickered. “Okay. And, don’t be late in the morning or anything. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”

“Got it. Do you have my Domo Kun hoodie?” (We were geeks.)

Tao tossed it from under her bed. I had on a pair of Nike track shorts, with a black tanktop and my hoodie zipped over it, and I had managed to tie my hair into a messy knot. Hell, it was nighttime, it was time to get lazy and not care. Anyway, I grabbed my bag and waved to Tao.
“Have fun.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

I quickly shut the door then sprinted down the hallway. Sneaking out was fairly easy, few to none of the Professors walked around campus at night, and the dorms were close enough to stay hidden in the shadows. But, the only thing stopping me were the Sons of Erebus. I guess Brice and Lena had called them in for something; which meant I couldn’t pass by the mansion (though the mansion was 6 miles out from any other building. But the Sons knew how to cover ground). Lucky me, I had a shortcut through Ria. 200—there was a tree that was struck by lightning a few years back, and the split bark leaned closer toward the apartments. So I ran through the tall oaks until I saw it, then threw my bag over.

Hopping through the tree was easy—not cutting my leg wasn’t.
“Shit!”

Ugh, it really sucked being such a klutz. Anywho, I snatched up my bag then ran to the apartment building. (Aya had told me about the tree.) Knocking on Dallas’ door, I heard something. From next door…. I was about to step over to Bear’s door but Dallas yanked me into the foyer.
“Agh!” I unattractively exclaimed.

“Shush!” Dallas hissed.

I shut up and waited… He roughly pulled me into the bedroom then told me to sit still. I placed my bag on the hook. Dallas reached behind the bed and pushed it to the side a bit.
“Come here. Silently,” he whispered.

I went there. Silently.

He was pressed against my back as we listened through the wall.
“Maybe it was—”

“Shut up! You’re an immature idiot, and you treat everything like a game! You and your brother have no respect for yourselves nor others, and it is very stressing to have one eye on two 21 year-old kids, and the other on others!”

That. Was. Harsh. The first voice had been Bear, and the second to interrupt him was Lena. At least I knew she wasn’t meeting with the Sons.

“Okay,” this was Bull. “Lena, can we please talk to our—”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t care for Chryseis, nor you two. Since when is it rational to eliminate two dragons? Or six gargoyles? It is quite a shame that I can’t come back to campus with a good report; there will always be a set of Twins to piss me off. I hope that we’ll not have this problem again, because there will be extreme consequences.” She slammed a door and departed. (Is this her way of a grand homecoming?)

Two seconds later, Dallas’ front door opened and in came a storm. Bull and Bear weren’t fazed by it, but they weren’t quiet about it, either.
“Bullshit,” Bear grumbled.

“For once in my life, I want to rip someone’s throat out and stomp on them to death,” Bull added.

Dallas stood up. “What does she think you did?”

“2 dragons—”

“—6 gargoyles—”

“—and, stole a sword from Professor Hyllus.”

I barely listened after that. Two dragons, six gargoyles, and even stole something? Hey, Bear might be evil, but he and his brother would never think to do something like that. This was utter and complete bullshit. So much bullshit that I couldn’t even imagine how Chryseis would take it—she’d probably yell or stab them. (Kidding!) Did Brice know about this? Is that why he asked me for Bear late last week? And, when dragons & gargoyles are killed, or when something is stolen, the Professors and Warriors stop at nothing to find out who did it. Damn. Just to think, Lena hasn’t blamed it on anyone except Dallas and the Twins—could there be a reason? Come to think of it, the last time something like this happened, it was a stupid Sio (Junior) who did it. But, she and Brice found out that the girl didn’t know she’d killed the dragon, so they forgave her. It sure as hell wasn’t the same for Dallas or the Twins—Lena just jumped to some silly conclusion to make it them. I mean, I get that they’re older, but, really? And, Lena has been trying to rip my throat out for dating Dallas, and it’s not like I did anything! Right? And, Brice was never the one to alert them! Cruel. That bitch was just cruel. I knew that it wasn’t a coincidence anymore, but Lena was trying to do this. Oh, and why not have it happen when Eris’s best friend loses her powers and they have to cast a circle so their brains don’t explode? WELL, HELL!

“Eris.” I looked up to Bull’s sweet smile. “Two things: do you want me to fix your legs, and, you do know we can hear everything you just thought?”

I nodded and made a face before coming to the edge of the bed. Bull waved his hand over my leg, and once again, I had the warm feeling of doves fluttering around in my stomach. He pulled back and I was fixed up.
“Thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, Domo,” Bull solemnly said.

“Don’t call me Domo, Domo.”

“Don’t you mean homo??” he replied.

“Derogatory term,” I chuckled, following them out of the bedroom.

“Look,” Bear sighed, “Bitch Monster Lena is trying to chew our asses out, especially me. So, Eris, can you use that little, Air power you have to kill her?”

We all sat on the couch and the chairs.

“No,” I answered. “One, I don’t have my powers back. Two, that would only be possible if I was in a circle, then I could help. Three, ask your mom what she thinks. Mothers always have the best perspective—mostly. But, ask her if she thinks you did it. If she says something like, ‘That’s not the point, my point is…,’ then don’t let her talk.”

“And, ask other Professors. They know more than us, so, Lena probably has some secret committee to hate on y’all,” Dallas added.

Bull nodded. “You’re right. Plus, the Sons of Alke, and the Sons of Erebus have been around lately–and they are so hot–so, maybe those dragons and gargoyles being killed is an even bigger deal.”

“I guess.” Bear stood up after his brother. “Eris, get to school on time, we have to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, brother,” I giggled, cuddling up on Dallas’ side.

“And you—” Bull directed his eyes to Dallas “—don’t sleep in. We have to do a bit more tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Dallas said, wrapping his arm around me.

The Twins exited the door then softly pulled it closed. Dallas let out a deep breath.
“Do you think she has a legitimate reason?” I blurted.

“Of course not. Nor does she have the right to say something like that,” he replied. I cupped the side of his neck and Dallas put his hand on my lower back. We sat for a while, then he carried me to the bedroom and tossed me into the bed. Before I could even pull the covers back, Harley and Hannah swopped into the room, with their impressive wings keeping them aloft.
“You two, out,” Dallas barked at them.

Hannah landed on the dresser and cawed at him, Harley got in the chair.

“Xan hsuvo liud nuuw,” Dallas firmly repeated.

They finally got the message then flew out the window and to wherever. Dallas shut the window and looked over at me. I yanked off my Domo hoodie then tossed it to the chair.
“Cute,” he said as he crawled under the covers with me.

“Uhm, shouldn’t you get into your pajamas?” I asked.

“It’s naked or everything, there’s no in between.”

“We can do naked.”

Dallas lightly hit me with a pillow.”Get to sleep before I suffocate you with this,” he joked.

I grabbed another pillow and hit him even harder, but Dallas put his hand on my arm. He pulled me into his tight embrace, hugging me down against the pillow.
“Dallas! I’m gonna die,” I giggled.

“Don’t die, go to bed,” Dallas responded. He pushed into me from behind and laid on his back. I stayed on my stomach, cradling the pillow to my chest.
“Goodnight, Eris.”

“I love you.”

I’m pretty sure that I went to bed before him, because I was out in two seconds.
====
Sahmi was talking about our powers and bodies as we got older. He asked a question,
“What are the three main body types?”

No one raised their hand. Wait… For real?! I raised my hand and Sahmi directed his gaze to me.
“Ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph,” I answered.

“Good. Wanna describe the differences?” Sahmi gave me a secret wink.

“Well, Ectomorphs are lanky, not a lot of body fat, and lean muscles. Mesomorph is medium, ya know, tall and athletic. And, Endomorph is kinda bulky, curvy or even just rounder.”

Most of Rian kids had been in Rianate all their lives, and even the smallest things were so easy to forget, since there were different ways to live here. But, hell, I had almost forgotten them, so, I couldn’t really talk.

Sahmi nodded. “So, you should be able to tell what type you are, all of our bodies are pretty much done growing. And…”

“How did you know that?” Tao whispered to me.

I turned to my left and met her icy eyes. “Magic.” She flipped me off and we continued listening to Sahmi.

After Riate and lunch, then came Art—and it seemed like Verc was in a good mood. But, we honestly never knew with her. She assigned us a project: an abstract painting, using only the colors yellow and blue. With a partner.

Tao spilled some blue paint into our little jar, while I mixed the yellow into hers. We were mixing and talking and preparing to paint when Verc announced something.
“This is a challenge for anyone who wants it: use wax on the canvas. See how that works.”

Wax? Oh! Once, I melted crayons on the lamp at home and the wax got everywhere, but it still came out pretty! I leaned over to Tao.
“Hey, crayons,” I whispered.

“Crayons? Hun, we’re not five,” she quietly chuckled.

“The wax. We can ask Verc for a candle or blow dryer.”

Tao stopped and thought… Her face was priceless. “Yes! Come on, let’s ask.”

We hurried over to Verc’s desk then smiled (we had to be suck-ups for the moment). She looked up with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, girls?”

“Okay, two things: do you have crayons and, a candle or blow dryer?” Tao asked.

“Yes. Is that gonna be your wax?”

“Mmhmm, blue and yellow crayons,” I added.

She stood up. Verc led us to one of the six closets lined on the back wall, and opened the door. Whoa. Who knew there were so many crayon colors?!

Tao chose three dark blues, and four bright yellows; I grabbed two light blues and a golden yellow. Verc shut the door then pointed to another one.
“There are candles, but no blow dryers,” she said.

“Thank you,” we smiled.

I told Tao to get situated at the canvas, and I was to grab the candles. Two people means two candles. Whoa again. In rainbow order, Verc had over 30 candles on the six shelves, and they ranged from short and stubby to talk and skinny. The skinny blue one caught my eye, so I reached in and grabbed it. There was also a skinny yellow one. (Way to follow through with the color.)

I walked back to Tao and nodded. Before Verc had announced the wax, we had smudged blue and yellow shades onto the canvas to rid of any white spots. And Tao had lined the peeled crayons on the top of the canvas, so when the wax melted, it dripped down over the paint.
“Okay.” I smiled then lit the candles. “You’re any color you want.”

“Thanks,” Tao said as she grabbed the blue candle. We barely even had to touch the flame to the crayons for them to start melting blue and yellow wax.

Art was really good (we weren’t done with our wax painting), and Math was just the same. After Math, Dallas texted me to come to his place so we could hang out once more before he left. Alright. I skipped Affinity Hour (like I had been doing for a month) then walked down to Ria. 24.

I walked in through Dallas’ door and heard how annoyed he was.
“Harley, I will be happy to deep fry you,” Dallas groaned.

Harley “yelled” back at him.

“I’m older! What are you gonna do about it, run off to Hannah?!”

Caaaaaaaghhw.

“It’s not gonna be funny when you’re on a plate… And all of your precious little feathers are plucked off from your body… And some weirdo in Kansas wants to eat you for dinner!”

I was standing in the doorway of the bow room, listening and watching them argue. Harley was trying to touch the bow Dallas was holding, but Dallas kept swatting his talon. He literally looked like a little kid trying to touch the water with his toe, but he didn’t know if it was warm or cold.
“Stop it, Harley!” Dallas exclaimed.

Caweeeeeagh.

“You eat vulture vomit!”

Cagghhhhhhh.

Harley flew up and practically screamed at Dallas. They reminded me of dysfunctional brothers: always arguing, hate each other, hurt each other, but they did everything together. Dallas put the bow back, Harley mimicked him by moving his gigantic wings out. Dallas turned around and waved at me, Harley turned his neck and lifted a wing at me.
“Vulture vomit?” I grimaced.

“Yeah, it is disgusting.” Dallas kissed my nose. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, kinda mad that you have to leave.”

“Sorry. But, a week without Harley is heaven.”

Harley made a grunting sound then flew out of the room. He really hated Dallas.
“So,” I said, “what are you doing?”

“Choosing one to take,” he answered.

“Hmm. Pick a color: red or black?”

Dallas thought for a second. “Red.”

I grabbed his bow with red bolts. Dallas made a “duh” sound as he took them.
“Thanks, that was easier than I thought,” he smiled.

“No need to thank me. Just worship me,” I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Dallas gave me a big kiss and squeezed my ass in his large hand. I broke away.
“Have you seen my hoodie? I think I left it,” I said.

“I dunno.” Dallas pulled away and walked out to the living room. “With Harley and Hannah, anything they find is automatically theirs. So, don’t count on finding it.”

“Eh, whatever. Can I—”

“Eris, you’ve asked enough questions. Shzhh.” Dallas waved his hands in my face.

“Well, gosh. Anywho, I was asking to ask you a question. So, may I ask another question so I can stop asking questions and we’ll be question-free?”

“What do you possibly want,” he flatly sighed.

I smiled. “Wait, so I can ask the question?”

“Eris!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But, I was just asking if you seriously want to cast a circle. Ya know, I’ve got this shit down. And, I think I’m casting one next month, or, whenever I have some free-time.”

“Well,” Dallas said, “that’s great, but, I don’t need one. Why can’t I just watch you?” He grinned, looking like a handsome little boy.

“No, Dallas. Do you know how awkward it is to have some idiot staring you down while you’re trying to concentrate?”

“Just block me out.”

I looked him dead in the eyes, and Dallas stared back harder. He hit my arm and I blinked.
“Damnit!”

“Haha,” Dallas smirked, poking my shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” I frowned.

He kissed my forehead then sat back on the couch. I wrapped my arms around his neck as Dallas cut on the tv; he rested a warm hand on my thigh. As I adjusted my body on the cushion, I reached behind my back and grabbed the pen that was secured on my belt loop. I had been drawing on my hand in Math, but I forgot to take the pen off. I hovered over my hand and finished the doodle I had started. I covered the entire back of my hand with a detailed drawing of a sacred heart; it was a design I’d been sketching since I was eleven. It had flames dancing up the back, a crown of thorns on top of it, a spray of roses along the bottom, and in the center I drew a scrolling banner with my name in the center. Dallas peaked over and seized my hand.
“Wow, that’s good. Nice,” he frowned in approval.

I bit my lip. “That’s not even half of what I started in class.” I rolled my sleeve up and Dallas chuckled.

“You should be a tattoo artist; you have a lot of creativity buried inside of you.”

“That’s actually my dream job.” I smiled and Dallas stroked my bare thigh. His hand went higher up, up until I gasped at his warm touch by my covered sex.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop here,” Dallas chuckled. He brought his hand back down and I sighed. That sigh made the rest of my body realize how tired I was, so I sprawled out on his chest and Dallas put his hand on my hip.

“Good afternoon,” I yawned.

“Good afternoon, Avatar,” he laughed.

My eyes shut on instinct, and I only paid attention to the beat of Dallas’ heart. Bum… bum… bum… bum… zzzzzzz.
====
END OF PART 5
I ended the story with Eris sleeping because I didn’t want to blow your brains out with boring shit. This part isn’t all that important, and I didn’t just want to bullshit it. Part 6 will definitely be up tomorrow night.

-L11

---

The clock was ticking at the same beat of my fingers tapping on the desktop. Tick, tock, Eris. Tip, Tap, Eris. You’re gonna ace this test—hopefully. And right now was one of those times that I knew I was gonna massacre. Easy stuff, we learned the majority of it that month, so, it shouldn’t be that hard.

“Okay,” Nanaya announced. “You all may begin.”

Eris Faye was the first thing I scribbled down. Tao tapped me on my hand and I looked over to see her icy blue eyes all confused. I wrote down the answer to number one; she hit herself on the forehead, mouthing, “Duh.” For a five-page test, it was fairly easy to finish in less than 90 minutes and have on Nanaya’s desk.

After History was over, Tao raced down with me to Body Science so we could ask Sahmi about our next quiz. When we got in, Sahmi was sitting on top of the desk, with a pencil floating in front of his face. His affinity was Gravity, and it was amazing to watch him.
“Sahmi?” Tao blurted.

“My ears are open and my eyes are directed on yours,” Sahmi replied, looking directly into Tao’s eyes and snatching the pencil out of the air.

“U-uh—”

“She wants to know about our upcoming quiz,” I snickered, finishing her beautiful sentence.

Sahmi made a face. “Sa quf pors whi acneme duso?” Translated to English, that meant: “And, what would you like to know about the quiz?”

“What type of questions there are,” Tao answered. “I don’t like multiple choice because it messes me up, and writing is a big no, my nails are mucho too importanto!”

He chuckled at her “accurate” Spanish. “Well, Tao, see me after class, we’ll figure something out.” Sahmi winked at her just before the bell rang.

We darted to our seats then pulled out the assignment Sahmi wanted us to do in our textbooks. Following Body Science, I went to Riate and Brice called me over to his desk… What did I do?!

“Hello,” I said, showing the sign of respect.

“Hello, Eris. Uhm, have you seen Caine Prath lately?” he asked.

“Yeah, just yesterday. Why?”

“Lena needs him. Thank you, Goddess, merry part.”

(I loved how they referred to us as Gods and Goddess.) I ran off to my seat, then Tao walked in with a late pass to Brice. She joined me in the back and put her feet up on the desk.

As class progressed, I had a thought of Aya and did I ever give her that necklace. It was late January, and Tao and I had moved on with crying ourselves to sleep about Aya; we knew better than being little brats about it. Two weeks ago, we spread her ashes in my backyard, so we always knew where she was and how we could be connected to her. That was one thing I was happy about, others, not so much.

My Elements still weren’t working, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as last month. Turns out, the Elements made my reflexes stronger (I have no idea why) and it made me super alert during class. So, that was good. And, Dallas had been so good to me, like always. After Riate, we had lunch (walking tacos) then headed off to Art, and I was super happy because Verc was in a good mood. She had us create an abstract painting of what our affinity was in our own eyes; not what it was meant to be or what other people thought.

So, I splattered red and blue and white and green paint on the canvas, then used my pinky finger to swirl it around. The colors actually looked great, the white made everything a tad lighter. Just to be more creative, I even threw in some teal to describe myself. Verc had been circulating the room, but when she saw me, she stopped.
“Amazing work, Eris,” Verc grinned.

“You like it? I’m rethinking the red now that I added the teal… ” I softly replied, frowning at the bright red paint.

“No! That’s beautiful, and if anything were to change, I’d say to throw you in the paint.”

Verc patted my lower back then went on to do her business, leaving me to observe my work. The bell rang and Tao dragged me off to Math. Affinity Hour came quicker than I expected, so I decided to go and visit Govea.

I crept into the steel door and took in the aroma of the dragons. (They all smelt like vanilla mixed with cinnamon—very pleasing.) Down a few rows, I heard Govea’s deep laughter and a dragon cutely roaring back at him. I called out his name, then Govea peeked his head out from the last row of enclosures.
“Just the person.” He smiled. “Wanna meet the babies?”

“Babies?” I started walking closer and Govea went back to his place. My heart exploded when I saw the two baby dragons in the basket.

The first was a pretty pink, with an orange streak of scales going down her back. The other was a deep blue with a yellow streak of scales down her back; they were adorable.
“Meet Ripley and Riva: our new baby girls,” Govea smiled.

I gasped at Ripley’s cute little sneeze. (Ripley was blue; Riva was pink.) “I want to eat them,” I chuckled.

“Well, don’t. They need more than 17 hours to live, Eris.”

“I’ll save you guys for later.”

Ripley let out another sneeze and her scales poofed out; her sister used her small wing to gently pat her back.
“They’re a bit sick. Mama had a bad cold during birth,” Govea said, observing their tiny bodies.

“It’s an inherited trait, huh?” I smiled at Riva and she made an impressive attempt to do the same.

A good minute into talking with Govea, I heard another voice from behind me. “Well, what do ya know, Eris is in here with Govea.”

I turned around and saw Dallas approaching from a row behind. He gave me a soft kiss then looked at the babies.
“You’re cuter than I expected,” Dallas smiled, waving at them.

Riva sneezed and she shot up into the air—literally. She was flapping her little wings while she tried not to fall and break her face. Govea was a few feet away, so Dallas quickly grabbed her and she let out a baby sigh of relief.
“They are very sick,” Govea muttered, with his hand rubbing his chin in thought. “Say, Dallas, would you mind watching them while I’m gone? I have to make a quick stop in Ohio, but I don’t want them to be overwhelmed alone.”

“Uh, I guess. Harley can’t be around them, can he?” Dallas replied.

“I’m afraid not. Have he and Hannah stay at your Yard, they are far too rough to be around newborns.”

Dallas nodded and Govea thanked him again. Huh, Dallas with babies?! This. Will. Be. Hilarious. I picked up Ripley then waved to Govea. “I’ll make sure Dallas doesn’t kill them.”

“Me?! Please, I’m amazing with animals,” he scoffed.

“Says the one who kills them for a hobby,” Govea muttered under his breath. I laughed but Dallas made a boyish grunt as Govea shooed us off and we headed to the apartments.

As we walked, Riva kept trying to fly up, and Dallas had to hold her tight, but she sneezed every two seconds, so his grip was pretty pointless. He opened the door to his place, and we set the sisters free.

I plopped down on the couch, Dallas came over and laid across my lap.
“How was your day?” he asked as he cut the TV on.

“Fine.” I ran my fingers through his light hair. “How was yours?”

“You could say… terrible.”

“Why?”

Dallas’ violet eyes lifted to mine. “Because I say so. And, I got bit by Harley and Hannah. They just don’t like me.”

“I’m sorry, baby. Would it make you feel better if I cooked for you?” I waggled my eyebrows down at him.

“Hmm, what will you make me?”

“I’m not telling you. Shut up and sit down.”

“Eris, that’s not very nice. You should apologize.” Dallas made his puppy-dog eyes.

“Dallas,” I mocked, “that’s not very nice. I think you should apologize.” I stuck my tongue out before running back to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, I was still in the kitchen, listening to music and making this sandwich for him. Something was moving behind me… I whipped my head around and saw Dallas hop onto the counter then smile. I yanked my headphones out and laughed. “What the shit?! Go back in there.”

“Unless you want to be burned, turn around and make me a sandwich,” Dallas said, being his traditional smartass.

I stuck my hand in the drawer then pulled out something. “I know you didn’t just tell me to make you a sandwich,” I growled as I pointed the blade at him.

Dallas shrugged. “Okay, make me a grilled cheese sandwich.”

I dropped the knife back into the drawer then finished the sandwich. Cutting off the stove, I passed Dallas the plate and he took a gigantic bite.
His eyes got wide. “Awh, bitchin! There’s pepperoni!”

“Really?! I didn’t know.” I made a fake gasp but Dallas just nodded.

“Pepperoni.” He took another bite and rolled his eyes to the back of his head while he moaned.

“Is it that good?” I giggled and mimicked his face.

Dallas nodded. “It’s that good.”

“You’re welcome.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek then ran off to the living room to watch the game.

Dallas finished up in the kitchen, and took his medicine before coming to sit with me. He pulled my legs into his lap and grazed his fingertips over my covered skin—but it still felt like he was trying to tickle me. I wiggled from his grinp and he gave me a death stare.
“Quit moving,” Dallas huffed.

“No, you’re gonna molest me,” I giggled, tucking my knees to my chest.

“Molest you? I mean, I know that you’re into some freaky shit, but molest—”

I hurled a pillow at him and Dallas flopped back on the couch. He quickly threw the pillow back but I covered my head. Dallas yanked my leg again, then laid me on his lap and started tickling me.
“Dallas, stop! I will punch you in the throat!”

He dropped his hands and started laughing. I took advantage and pushed him back on the cushions, straddling his lean hips.
“Hey! That’s not fair,” Dallas chuckled.

“Life isn’t fair. Don’t tickle me unless you wanna wake up dead,” I growled while pinning his arms back.

“Wake up dead? How much sense does that make?”

“I dunno, do you wanna test that theory? Because I will—”

Dallas hit me with another pillow and I flipped back the other way. Damn, I never knew a pillow hurt that much! He had his turn on top then kissed my neck, but I pushed him onto his back then sat up straight. Dallas got up, then wrapped his arm around my upper back, pulling me closer to his warm body. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the smell of his yummy cologne; Dallas always smelt so fucking good. He must’ve noticed my sniffing because he pushed the side of my face.
“Hey!” I blew a strand of hair out of my face before sticking my tongue out at him.

“Don’t sniff people, you’re not a dog,” Dallas said.

I started to kiss on his neck, and Dallas sighed (I had my ways). He put his hands on my midriff, then slid his hand down to cup my ass while I grinded my hips down onto his.
“Hey,” Dallas laughed. “Don’t start something.”

I swung my legs the other way then straddled him backwards. Dallas put his face in the crook of my neck and started to lightly kiss me, with his tongue trailing up the side of my neck and to my ear. He was in love with my ears (not in the creepy way) because he loved to play with my earrings and piercings. On the left, I had an industrial piercing, a double hoop helix with tiny blue barbells, and two studs in the lobe. On the right, I had four tiny hoops in the lobe, another single helix, and a forward helix. He loved to tug and lick on them, and it made me crazy.
“Mmm,” I smiled. Dallas moved to my lobe and nibbled the pink ball I had in.

“You taste good,” he whispered. Damn, his warm breath made me moan.

“Well, I do like to taste good,” I giggled.

“Of course you love to taste good. Because I’m the only one who gets to ever taste you.”

I twisted my neck and glared at him. “Oh, really?”

“Yes really, Eris.” He gave me a small peck. I went in again and pushed Dallas back onto the soft cushions of the couch. He looked directly between my legs, obviously thinking about what was covered by my skin-tight leggings. I poked his stomach.

“Don’t look, I wore clothes for a reason,” I chuckled.

Dallas put his head back. “Meanie,” he pouted. Oh no, not the pout! Dallas made thee cutest pouty face, and thee cutest puppy eyes, and I always felt bad.

“No, Dallas! Please don’t, I’ll feel like shit!” I sighed. I put my face in my hands and Dallas started laughing.

“Alright, alright. Come on, I’ll let you leave this time since you have homework.”

I crawled out of his lap then sat up. Dallas walked me to the front door and leaned against the frame before bending down to kiss me. “I love you, don’t text me later,” he said.

I made a hurt face. “Damn. That was harsh.”

“What? I’m not gonna be up, I’m taking my ass to bed when you go.”

“Dallas, it’s only 6pm.”

“And? I slept terrible last night, so, I need to fix it by playing nocturnal.”

“Playing nocturnal? As in, sleep all day, party all night?” I laughed when he nodded.

“Yep, so, don’t text me.” Dallas wrapped me up in his thick arms. He put his hand on the base of my neck then whispered, “Next time, you won’t be leaving.”

“Oh really? And”—I pushed him away—”you won’t either, I may just tie you to the bed then molest you.”

Dallas down peered at me. “What is up with you and molesting?” he snickered.

I shrugged then hugged him around his neck and blew a kiss. “I love you.”

Behind his leg, Riva and Ripley looked at me like little kids—not really coming out, hiding behind Dallas. I waved to them then walked back to the dorms.

Right when I stepped the through the glass doors, my friends Giovanni and Ophelia stopped me.
“Hey, Eris,” Ophelia smiled. She had this bright pink, black and white hair, with dark eyes with vibrant rings of pink and white surrounding her pupils. Her affinity was Flexibility, and I liked to call her “Pretzel” because htere wasn’t a way she couldn’t turn her body.

She handed me a candle. “This is a gift from me and Gi, we wanted to say thanks for the advice.”

“Oh! Thanks! Everyone knows how I am about candles,” I giggled, observing the lavender candle. Last week, Giovanni was scared her powers were dying out because nothing was working, but I helped her locate her “inner Photography” and bring them back. But the unique thing was: Giovanni was Deaf, and Ophelia was her best friend.

Giovanni’s afifnity for Photography was astounding and she found art in everything she saw. Her dark blue eyes reflected her dark purple hair, and the ink of her Maxi swirled around her arms. She never used her disability as an excuse, and she was probably one of my closest friends!

“Thank you,” Giovanni signed, showing me the sign of respect at the end.

“You’re welcome, I gotta go. But I’m glad you got them back.” I smiled, bowed back then ran off to Tao.

Upstairs, I didn’t expect Tao to be sitting on the ground, with Mumble squawking and making a raucous. I giggled when he pecked her hand and made Tao squeal, “Ow!”

“Good job, Mumble. Keep it up,” I said.

“Ugh, hey. How was it with Dallas?”

I kicked my boots off, set the aromatic candle on the nightstand and leaned against the window.
“It was fine,” I sighed. “Hey, is Maz like, dead or something? He wasn’t in any classes, and he didn’t walk you to any Hours.” Tao rolled her eyes and clenched her fists on her knees.

“He’s being a complete asshole. His Dad took him through the portal, but I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday. And all he does is read my messages like they don’t exist,” she said. It was Thursday, so I knew Tao had to be going crazy.

I scoffed. “Well, at least you know he’s not dead. Alright, I have to change and finish my homework.” I peeled off my bottoms, tossed my shirt into the hamper then scampered along to the bathroom.

It took way longer to finish my homework, but after reading my book and playing with Mikey, I flopped down on the bed. Tao came over to me and sat on my legs, obviously prepared to ask me something.
“Yes?” I said from under my arms.

“You want a slushie? You look really tired, and, slushies work magic,” she smiled. I nodded, and Tao made me a cherry slushie.

I sipped the treat like a toddler, and Tao must’ve been happy because she made herself one–though it was just slush, no flavor. We ended up sleeping in the bed together, with our slushies on my nightstand.
====
Thank God the next day was Friday because I was mentally and physically exhausted. Seriously. On the History test, I got 100, and in Art, Verc displayed my work for an example. Wow, I really sounded like a goody-goody…. ew. After Math, I got texts on my phone from Bull.
Bull: Hey, are you done in class??
Me: Yes, why?
Bull: Come to the library.
Me: Fine.

I had already been heading toward the dorms, so I redirected and went to Ria. 57. When I opened the doors, I could see Bear and Bull talking with their mom, and obviously trying to tell her a joke. Bull saw me, then stood up and waved me over like an idiot with a grin so bright that he looked kind of like a mad man. Chryseis rolled her eyes at him when Bear gently punched her shoulder, and she punched him back even harder. She saw me then grinned.
“Hello, Eris. Merry meet,” Chryseis said.

“Hello. Uhm, what do you two want?” I asked the Twins.

They perked up and rose to their feet. “Oh! We need your help,” Bear deeply said.

“We don’t know how the Dewey Decimal System works… so can you help?” Bull gave me the biggest grin ever.

“I guess….”

“Eris, I suggest you run as far as possible; they’ll start depending on you like they’re lost puppies.” Chryseis gave them an annoyed look then smiled again before leaving.

“Ma!” Bear laughed. “That’s not nice!”

“I love you!” Bull called out.

I laughed when Chryseis turned around and gave them a playful finger.
“ What do you guys need?” I asked.

“Uhm, dragons. Particularly babies… that are sick… and shooting themselves into the air.”

“Ah, Riva and RIpley? They’re so cute! But, you left them alone with Dallas?”

Bear nodded as we crossed over to a bookshelf. “He isn’t that bad of a parent. Dallas turns on the game and they’re mesmerised.”

“Ya mean like you?” I glanced back at them as I handed them a thick book.

Bull carried the first book over to the lounge area, and I passed an even thicker one to Bear. He joined his brother in the red chairs then flipped them open.
“Goddamn!” They started coughing and waving their hands at the tons of dust from the book covers.

“Well, that was probably written in 1700 B.C.,” I sighed, kicking my feet up on the table.

Bear skimmed for a while then gasped, “I’ve found nothing!”
Bull took his turn then said, “Oh wow, there’s nothing useful in here!”

“Well, you’ve only read two pages, so, you should look a bit deeper. Pick a number, divide it by 2 or 4, then read that page.”

The Twins got their numbers then flipped through the books again. Bull found something and said, “It’s because mama had a dragon-flu!”

“And, they have terrible immune systems,” Bear mumbled, flipping through more pages as if he’d never held a book before. “This is so not English,” he chuckled.

Bear and Bull looked for a bit more then handed the books back to me like I was a servant. I looked at them as if they were crazy. “Since when am I your servant? God gave you two working legs, so use them.”

Bear made a groan and got louder while he stomped off to the bookshelf, same with Bull and his cute pout. They came back then looked at me like I was the devil.
“Problem? I’m just trying to keep you two in shape,” I deviously smiled but the Twins rolled their eyes.

“We gotta go and check on Dallas, are you coming?” Bull asked, standing up and running his fingers through his cloudy hair.

Every time I stared at his tresses, I just wondered how he made his clothes match something so bright. I was sure his hair was a brighter white than snow, and when I looked at Bear’s hair, it was darker than a summer night sky.

“Nah, I’m gonna stay here. Hey, Bear, can you go ask Zara for a book on Fire? And Earth? And Water? And Air?”

Bear turned the corner of his lip up into a sneer. “Uhm, do I look like a male stripper? Then don’t ask me to please you.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Caine.” Bull looked at him with bright grey eyes but Bear huffed air out of his nostrils.

“If you get it, I’ll buy you a smoothie,” I quickly bribed.

It took Bear about two seconds to sprint to the front desk and come back with the four books. He had an obsession with smoothies; there wasn’t anything Bear wouldn’t do for a smoothie. He gently passed them to me.
“Thanks,” I smiled. “Call me when you really need a smoothie.”

“Okay! Bye,” Bear said. He and Bull walked out of the library then went back to the apartments for Dallas.

Why did I need these books? Good question. Sometime that following week I wanted to cast a circle and “talk with” my affinity. Over a month without powers made me kinda antsy, so I made it a goal to cast a circle at least once so I didn’t freak-the-fuck-out. The books would just show me how to do it properly; no room for screwing up.

I sat the books on the table, side by side then opened the Air first. One thing from rituals I remembered was: Air, Fire, Water then Earth; call them in that order, dismiss them backwards. Since the Twins and Dallas gave me those candles, I’d been illuminating our dorm with them and concentrating on my homework (and it really worked). Casting a circle was completely different: I had to make sure I had a purified space; complete the circle; do it well; 10000000% of my attention is on the circle; have a purpose. Well, I had those answers and items. To purify the space, I could use the lavender batch Nana and Papa gave me, and weave it to make a scented braid. Completing the circle is easy: I just needed a certain amount of area with my candles in a compass organization. And, the rest was fairly easy to do or find or whatever. Studying the Riate words got very confusing, since I was used to the rituals being written in english. Some of the letters got turned over, some had extra lines, most had squiggly lines and twists, and I had to translate all of it! Well, after a difficult study, I picked up the books and crossed over to the colossal desk.

Zara was in her own little world, reading One for the Money and humming a tune.
“Zara—”

“AH!” Zara’s book flew out of her hand and she was all bug-eyed. She sighed when she realized it was me. “I’m sorry, Eris. Pardon me for startling you.”

That little scream she did made me jump. “It’s alright. And, you have a beautiful screaming voice, it is truly outstanding,” I smiled but Zara gave me a look.

She noticed the books against my chest and nodded. “Ah, casting circles, huh. Have any idea when you’ll do it?”

“Yeah, before this month is over.”

Zara nodded as she typed something into her computer, with her pink nails flying across the keyboard. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and she had a cute flower crown on.
“Alright,” Zara grinned. “Feel free to keep them as long as you like, I won’t mind if they’re not returned.”

“Zara, I can’t just do something like that. That’s called stealing,” I was being serious but she laughed.

“Sweetie, it’s not considered stealing if I say you can have them. Heck, I’m the only Professor who’s read all 17,836 of these books, and, I have permission to give them to you. So, study long and hard, and have a great circle.”

She was right: her affinity (Reading, obviously) made her memorize chapters and lines from books, and it made her read twice as fast. So, if she said I could have them, there was no arguing.

I raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Zara wiggled her fingers at me and I exited the large glass doors.

Not only did I just get four gigantic books, but, I can reread and do an even better job on my circle. With my mental notes, I planned to cast the circle tomorrow, in the woods where it’s secluded and peaceful. I would make an addition to the lavender, and mix some dried eucalyptus to give it a yummy smell. The entire purpose of the circle would be to connect with my powers spiritually, more than just physically and emotionally. Oh! I had to use the candles Dallas and the Twins gave me, and I’d add another candle: the one Giovanni gave to me.

I’d use it for Spirit. I read that Spirit was an affinity, and categorized as an Element, so why not? The purple candle would be in the middle, with the other four in a perfect diamond to connect them all.

Seems like my circle was gonna be pretty darn good. While coming up the stairs in the dorms, my phone buzzed with a text from Dallas.
Dallas: what are u doing?
Me: Why?
Dallas: Answer my question, please.
Me: Going to my room. Why?

Dallas was just asking about his sweatshirt—I kinda took it last time I slept over. He wanted it back, but I wanted to keep it because it smelt like him and it was big and warm! Dallas said he’d steal it back, I highly doubted that he’d do it.

When I walked into the dorm room, Tao was coming out of the shower with a bit of cold smoke radiating from her wet body. She whirled around and smiled. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I waved and smiled back.

“What’d you do after school? I missed you last Hour,” Tao said as she searched for some clothes.

“Oh, the Twins needed me.”

“Hmm. And, what’s up with the books?” She slipped a shirt over her head and glanced at me.

I dropped the books on my desk then laid down on the bed. “Well, I’m casting a circle soon, so I just needed some review.”

“That’s awesome!” Tao clapped her hands together and gave me the happiest smile ever.

I smiled back as she stepped into a pair of gym shorts.

She sneered at her purse on the desk. “Poop. Well, I have to finish this for Kirsi”—Tao pulled a thin stack of papers out of her bag—”and I don’t feel like it.”

“Tao.” I snatched the papers from her. There were only four pages, so it shouldn’t have been that hard. “Half and half?”

“Honey, no. Thank you, I have to do this by myself, because this is stuff I don’t know. You know it, but I don’t.” Tao gently took the papers back and sashayed to her desk.

She put her iPhone on the speaker and turned on Kenny Chesney—oh God. I sat on my bed, listening to her sing along and do her homework. It was funny to watch Tao multitask, because she was super clumsy. The pen kept rolling off of the desktop, so she had to continuously bend over and pick it up. After the eighth time, Tao froze the writing utensil to the desk and continued working. (Great use of power.)

She closed her books and put her stuff away, saying, “Finished!”

“Good job, Tao Chesney,” I muttered.

“You know it. Hey, so I gotta tell you this story.”

“I’m listening…” I drew my eyes to her.

“So, one time when I was 14, there was this boy”—with Tao, there’s always a boy—”and he was real cute. And, I finally grew the tits to go over and say hi, but, I was just so nervous! I went over, he waved, and I freaked out! I accidentally froze his hand like—” Tao had her hands up, and there was a little spark of energy before the power shot out of the window, and sent a strong wind through the room. Tao got flung back onto her bed, and there was a big crackle of ice over our heads. After the ice stopped falling, I sat up and shook the tiny crystals out of my hair. Tao had not moved yet.

“Tao!” I scrambled out of bed and came over next to her, and she hugged me. “Are you okay?”

Her cold body felt even colder, and I was just scared that I would lose her. “That ain’t supposed to happen,” Tao nervously chuckled into my neck. I held her out at arm’s length then smiled.

I pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. But—” Tao flicked her hand out, with the intention of getting ice to hit the wall, but nothing happened. She tried over and over again until she was hyperventilating and frantically talking over me.

“Eris, Eris, my powers! What happened? Eris! Help, I dunno what—”

“Calm down,” I slowly and loudly said. Tao cradled her head in her hands. “Okay, we need to go and alert Brice, because that’s not normal.”

“Right,” she flatly said. Tao was stunned—in all of 14 years, she’d never lost her powers or anything. She grabbed a hoodie then stepped into her boots; I stepped into my shoes and we quickly went downstairs.

It was past curfew, but that was the least important thing right now. What was important was Tao. Some of the girls were sitting in the living room watching MTV, and one of those girls was Giovanni. I tapped her shoulder and her soft pink eyes locked on mine.
“What’s up?” she signed.

“Giovanni, we have to leave. It’s important, and we’re going to Brice. Just, don’t freak if we’re leaving after curfew,” I replied.

“Is everything okay? You look upset.” Her hands moved quickly, so I knew she wasn’t happy with what we were asking.

“Sorta. We… We’ll explain it later, but we have to go.” Tao and I bowed to her and she smiled back.

Tao and I burst out of the glass doors then hurriedly walked over to Ria. 84. (We knew we’d be in some deep shit if we were sprinting around like Usain Bolt—especially after curfew.) When we passed by the apartments, it was clear that there was a party going on, because chatter was beyond the roof. And a bunch of lights were on on the top floor. Tao grabbed my arm and said, “We might just have to run… I don’t want to take too long.”

“Eh, you’re right,” I nodded then we broke out into sprint.

By time we got there, Tao and I were both breathing a bit hard (we may or may not have run into a crazy gremlin).

We opened the doors and walked down the dark hallway to Brice’s office. From inside, we could hear Brice talking to someone—not to himself, but someone.
“Maybe you should tell that to your aunt, Karder,” he said.

Oh. He was talking to Xi and Karder—his sons. (The two men who escorted me into Rianate, and, they were the ones to take Aya’s body away.) I didn’t even figure that out until Dad told me, but, it made sense: they were a bit older than us (maybe 27-30 years old), they worked for Brice all the time, and they had Brice’s ,. (It just meant that Lena was their aunt.) And no one had seen Lena for a while, she went to Arizona for something. Anyway, Brice finished talking with them, then Xi and Karder passed us in the hall.
“Girls,” Xi asked. “Shouldn’t you be in the dorms? Curfew.”

“We need Brice, it’s far too important to wait,” Tao replied.

“Oh. Merry part,” Karder said, bowing to us. He and his brother quickly left to wherever they stayed—I think in the mansion. Tao took an intense breath, then slowly widened the heavy door…. Brice was standing with his back to us, sipping on wine from a silver goblet.

“Brice…” Tao faintly said.

He quickly turned to us with a raised eyebrow. “It is past curfew. You two shouldn’t—”

“Her powers are gone,” I blurted, inadvertently cutting him off.

His expression darkened. “What? Why has this happened? Show me, please.”

Tao started walking closer then flicked her wrist, but nothing…. nothing came out. She let out a frustrated sigh and plopped down in the leather wingback chair .
“I dunno what happened, Brice. We were in the dorm, and it didn’t work. It was like, some invisible force pushed my powers out of my body,” Tao explained, looking him dead in the eye. “The ceiling froze over, and the ice melted, crackled and fell onto us.”

“Hmm, well this is completely abnormal. Sit, Eris,” Brice said. I plopped down in the chair, Brice took his seat behind his desk and continuously stroked his bearded chin. “Now, it is completely peculiar… It’s never been that two Rio have lost their powers, and it’s never been two friends that it’s happened to.”

Tao and I shared a knowing look. She turned back to Brice then said, “What’re we going to do?”

“It’s not all that safe for us to be powerless,” I added.

He must’ve gotten an idea because his dark eyes lit up. “Well,” a smile crept onto his lips. “Asking for help always works.”

“Wha?” we dumbly huffed at once. I shook my head before saying, “Brice, what kind of help do you need? Everything is right in front of you, you practically own us.”

“Yeah, who’d be able to help?” Tao creased her brow.

“It’s not like I have an affinity for everything. Leave me, I’ll show you two tomorrow. But for now, avoid things that could harm you or your non-existent powers. After school, I think I’ll have something to help. Merry part.” He gently bowed to us, and we stood then bowed back.

Tao dragged me out of the doors and we started back to the dorms.

“Tomorrow? After school? What the shit, I lose my powers and now we’re playing tea party? Did he do this with you? How in the world are we supposed to get them back? Why did this happen? Please, tell me why. Because I don’t have an answer to any of my questions, and it’s tiring to be so overwhelmed and stressed out!” Tao frantically said, waving her cold hands around in front of her chest.

“Tao, it’s not so hard after a while. Brice knows what he’s doing, but, I’m not so sure about playing tea party either. We’ll just have to wait.” I gave her an apologetic smile; Tao rested her head on my shoulder.

We had been talking to Brice for a while, and it was nearing 1am. But, I couldn’t care less because that next day was Saturday, and, I had to make one more stop. I had decided to cast circle tomorrow night, but now that Tao’s powers were gone, we needed some extra candles. It was completely out of the norm for Rios to be out this late, and we had to go all the way over to the Rec Hall. In the Rec Hall where kids performed rituals or just hung out, there was another gigantic room—for candles. Literally hundreds of candles, row upon row upon row, just in this extra storage room. They were used for circles, or if someone wanted a candle for the night. And, the candles were based on affinity, and I knew there had to be some Ice ones in there.

I held Tao’s forearm as we entered the closed gates. The door wasn’t locked, but it was steel and it took both of us to open it. Tao shut the door after we got in, then followed me down to the room. We creaked open the next steel door and the different scents of candles hit us.
“It always smells good in here,” I grinned.

“What do we need? You have four candles for your circle,” Tao softly said as she observed the different candles.

“Yeah, those are for me, we need some for you.” I spotted the first light blue candle and made an “aha!” sound. Grabbing the first, my eyes lifted and I saw the second. Tao grabbed another, but we just had to find a fourth… Oh! (Trust me, this would be much harder if our vision wasn’t so good. There were well over a thousand candles in there.)

Tao seized the last and we quietly left the room, shutting the large door behind us. Ten minutes later, we were climbing up the stairs in the Girls’ Dorm and getting back to our room. I sat the candles on her shelf, Tao put hers next to mine. She turned to me as she stripped off her hoodie.
“So, you’re saying you’re gonna cast a circle for both of us?”

“No,” I corrected, “we’re gonna cast a circle for the both of us.”

“But, I dunno how to do that shit,” Tao sighed.

“Neither do I. Well, sorta—whatever. Tomorrow afternoon, stop at the library and read about yours, okay?”

Tao nodded as she crawled into the bed. “I’m hella tired, goodnight.”

I took off my clothes then flopped back onto the soft bedspread. Five seconds into laying down and relaxing, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Dallas: r u sleojaeping?

His typos made it clear that Dallas was shit-faced.

Me: Baby, get some sleep.
Dallas: HeAKJy nhl. paibSues wqhxat?

This was one of those times when autocorrect did not want to correct him.

Me: Dallas.

Dallas: Nothing. naijJusjnvSayingqmxks

He was drunk. Seriously.

Me: Go to bed, good night.

Dallas sent a few random letters then continued blowing me up. I didn’t bother checking my phone every time it buzzed, Dallas was just sending me random words like “hey” or “Eris” or “wake up” or “hah,” just drunk stuff. (At least I know he was at that party.) My notifications started signaling phone calls (Dallas was a drunk-caller), and they lasted about two seconds. Many phone calls and text messages later, I slowly closed my eyes and got to sleep.
====
I knew the second I should’ve woken up to check on Dallas because he interrupted my dream. I had been lying out in the sun (sunny weather is the bomb) on a big, heart-shaped floatie in the middle of a lake made of Sprite (who knows?), when all of a sudden everything disappeared and Dallas’ voice burst into my skull.
“You’re too young to sleep so late!”

God, he reminded me of my Father. My eyes fluttered open to meet Boing’s heavy glare with her fluffy tail resting on my neck. She made her annoyed squeak sound, sneezed, stood up long enough to pad around and around in circles on my chest, then she plopped down and took up the pillow space.
“You’re really no help at all,” I grumbled.

She ignored me. I only had on a polka-dot bra, and black shorts, so I was extra chilly. Fuck, I did need to go check on Dallas—he REALLY knew how to drink. I rolled my neck on my shoulders, then pushed my messy hair back and out of my eyes. Tao was curled up in a little ball, with her arm under her cheek and her face smushed into the pillow. Cutie. Mumble and Mikey were chilling on the floor, with Mumble laying on Mikey’s side and Mikey snoozing with his face in his paws.

I ran to the bathroom, took a hot shower, then quickly got dressed. If anything, leaving Dallas by himself while he was hungover was terrible. He was usually grumpy in the morning, but especially with a headache and tons of alcohol in his system. Ha, just to see him suffer…. Anyway, I grabbed my cellphone and stepped into my shoes then left the room.

Oh boy. I walked into Dallas’ place and saw the loose tee shirt on the couch. Peeking into the hallway, I saw the cracked bedroom door, and I heard Dallas shuffling the covers around. I sat my bag on the chair then slowly approached the bed. He was laying on his front, with his messy hair and his bare back to me. His Maxi looked sexy, but I wasn’t focused on that. I softly shook his shoulder.
“Dallas,” my voice barely reached a whisper. He wasn’t budging. I shook his shoulder again. “Dallas.” Nada. I put my hand on the base of his neck and got close to his ear. “DALLAS!”

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Dallas popped up and threw a pillow at me.

“Ow!”

“Oh, baby.” He groaned. Dallas rubbed my cheek and said, “I’m sorry, but don’t do that.”

“It’s… fine? Jesus, boy, get up!” I poked his shoulder but Dallas didn’t smile. “When did you get home?”

“Uh…” Dallas glared at the clock on his nightstand. His normally bright blue eyes were reflecting his mood: dull and crestfallen. “2am, I think. I dunno.”

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his thighs, and his head down. I ran my fingers through his messy locks, making Dallas sigh and rest his head on my stomach.
“Maybe a shower,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“Shush. I know, I’m dirty and need a shower. And, dear God, I need food! And coffee! And sleep! Ughh,” Dallas flopped back onto the bed and covered his face with a pillow. He still had on his jeans, but they were low-rise so I had a good view.

“Rebel, maybe you shouldn’t stay out so long, since you enjoy sleeping the day away.”
I called him Rebel for two reasons: it was his middle name, and Dallas read this story about a guy named Rebel who always drank. Plus, he was my little Rebel.

“Not in the mood for jokes.” His voice was muffled but I could hear him clearly.

“Okay. Well, take a shower, I’ll make you food and stuff.”

“Thanks, Avatar.” Dallas chucked the pillow at the wall, and I flinched when it landed on the hard surface with so much force. He got up then squeezed my hip. “I can’t kiss you because I have every hint of alcohol on my breath.”

I chuckled and Dallas patted my ass. He shut the bathroom door then did his business while I went to prepare him breakfast. 20 minutes later, a fresh Dallas walked into the kitchen for breakfast, coffee, and medicine. He took a sip of the coffee and made a satisfied groan. He leaned his head back to me.
“Did I ever tell you that you make caffeine taste like Jesus?”

“I’ve been told before,” I giggled, handing him the plate of toast, eggs and bacon.

“And did I ever tell you that you have just made food my new drug?”

“Nah, but you should. And, did you brush your teeth?”

Dallas nodded. “Why—” I didn’t give him time to answer before devouring his lips. Keeping my lips on his, I took the coffee from his hands, and Dallas seized my hips. He trapped me against the counter, using his tongue to explore my mouth while I inched my fingers into his sweatpants. We finally pulled away, breathing hard and Dallas had a slight smile on.

“Because I wanted to do that,” I grinned, walking to the living room.

Dallas quickly joined me and he ate his food while I searched for something to watch. He took his plate back to the kitchen then laid on the cushions with me. I didn’t think it was necessary to tell him about Tao losing her powers, Dallas wouldn’t really care.
“We probably need to check on the Twins,” he muttered.

“What? Are they shit-faced too,” I groaned, tossing my head back and closing my eyes.

“If I was that bad, they have to be drowning in a tub of beer. Come on.”

Dallas yanked me off of the couch and we quickly went to Bear’s apartment. His place was pretty neat, he just had a few misplaced items here and there (not to mention everything was dark, and, all of the curtains were closed). In the bedroom, Bear was laying on his stomach with the covers tossed to the side and his tee shirt dangling at the foot of the mattress. Dallas gave me a look then mouthed, “I’ll do it.”

I nodded. Dallas took a deep breath then crossed over to the side of the bed. He hit Bear with a pillow, he didn’t budge. Dallas tried over and over, but nothing. He rolled his eyes then grabbed two more pillows. Dallas hit Bear with so much force that I even flinched. With lightning speed, Bear hopped out of bed, shoved Dallas onto the ground and yelled, “GET OUT!”

I picked up a pillow and hit him in the stomach. Bear barely (haha) moved, but he was taken aback by the way I hit him.
“You get off your ass and get in the shower,” I huffed, giving him a death stare. “And say sorry.”

Bear sneered at me but grinned at Dallas. “Sorry, fucker. I’ll go for the nuts next time.”

“Thank you.” Dallas grinned back as he picked himself up. Bear hurried off to the shower then did his own business. Dallas looked back at me with dark green eyes and said, “You can wake up Christopher. He actually scares me a bit.”

I shrugged and we left to go and get Bull. Once again, his place was really nice, and he was in his bedroom snoozing away. The duvet was a bright blue pattern, and the gazillion of pillows were a cute shade of blue (they really contrasted with his white hair). I hit him with a pillow, nothing happened. After the tenth time, Bull seemed as if he was dead. I gave Dallas a helpless look but he mouthed, “Super hard.” I heeved a great sigh then saw Bear appear in the doorway. He asked me for the pillow but I scrunched up my nose to make him back down.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered to Bull. I held the pillow out then, I rammed it down onto his back.
“WHAT THE FUCK!”

I think that did it. Bull sat up then saw it was me. “You little—”

I ran over to Dallas and Bear and stood behind them, looking over their shoulders at the hungover victim. Bull hopped out of the bed then gave me a death stare.

Bull twisted up his mouth. “Someone make me breakfast, I need to shower.”

“Anything else for our queen?” I said under my breath.

“I’d like your head on a stick. Your queen shall be clean.” Bull slammed the bathroom door and did his own little business.

By time Bear and Bull were done with breakfast and going about their day, Dallas and I were sitting in the bedroom and talking.
“…and it was really nasty,” I giggled. I just told him a story about the time my friend had cat pee in a cup and poured it in my backpack. (We were 15, don’t judge.)

He tossed his head back and started laughing. I pulled him down into a kiss, but I didn’t expect Dallas to stick his tongue into my mouth.
“Baby!” I giggled.

“I want to show you my love,” he laughed into my mouth.

I pushed him off. “Show your love in another way, but don’t choke me with your organ.”

“What the….” Dallas sighed and shook his head. “Choke you with my organ?”

“Tongue”—I stuck my tongue out—“organ.”

“Eris”—Dallas put his finger on my forehead—“weirdo.”

I blew him a kiss and Dallas kissed me for real. After the eternal kiss, he pulled back then said, “I have to go soon. And, I don’t want to start something we can’t finish.”

“Poop! Where do you have to go?” I replied`.

“Uh, Riva and Ripley, duh. And, I have to check on Hannah and Harley. Oh, and I have to go practice. And I have to—”

“That’s amazing, but I don’t care.”

Dallas pushed the side of my face as he got off of the bed. He reached into his closet, grabbed something then sighed. Dallas pulled out a deep blue shirt and grinned. “You might wanna close your eyes, I’m getting naked.”

“Oh, let me just open my eyes,” I laughed, turning to his body.

Dallas stripped his white shirt off then changed into the blue one. He tossed it over his shoulder, and into the hamper.
“Awh,” I pouted. “That wasn’t naked.”

“Close enough. Come on, I’m gonna walk ya back,” he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. Dallas wrapped his arm around my waist then nuzzled my hair.

“Ew,” I pushed him away but I was laughing. Dallas snapped his teeth at me. “Sorry, I don’t like people touching my hair.”

He looked down. Dallas hooked my neck in his elbow and (annoyingly) ruffled my hair like a relative would do to me. I had to reach down and grab his groin for him to stop.
“HEY!” Dallas laughed.

“Don’t touch.” I jumped on his back and started ruffling his hair. “Unless you want me to cut this off.”

“It’s beautiful, so don’t touch me!”

I dug my fingers into his thick hair then messed it up, but Dallas kept moving his head from my grip. We were walking down the hallway, so we probably looked very stupid. Dallas pulled me back to my feet and hooked his hand behind my neck to pull me close.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” he grinned.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I replied, running ahead to race him.

Dallas broke out running after me, and we made it to the dorms much faster than expected. I reached up then ran my fingers through his hair once more.
“Thank you for saving me from a terrible hangover,” Dallas chuckled.

“Anytime. And, thank you for touching my hair like a creep,” I smiled.

He kissed the top of my head and sent me on my way. Now, this circle: it’d be fairly easy to cast Tao—since she had one affinity to control. But me, that would be a bit different because I had never done all four. Hmm.

Heading into the kitchen for my brown pop, questions swarmed around in my head, but, I wasn’t that freaked out about the circle. Hell, I’d seen someone cast one, and call their powers, but any other time, it hadn’t really crossed my mind. I was still gonna do it. And, Tao had to call her own. She texted me earlier and said that she read some stuff in the library, so she somewhat knew what we were doing.

I walked upstairs to our room then saw Tao walking down from the other hall.
“Hey,” she called out.

“Hey.” I waited a few seconds for her to catch up. She looped her arm with mine and we continued walking. “So are you excited to cast this circle?”

“Actually, I am very excited. I told my mom, and, since she’s such a softy, she freaked out. But I told her that I was okay, and we were doing the circle tonight.”

“Oh, good. Well, it’s 6 right now… So, be ready at 9pm, and we’ll have enough time.”

Tao nodded and opened the door for us. I went straight to my nightstand then started searching around for my lavender batch that Nana gave me, and I needed the eucalyptus. They both smelled really good. And together, that’s like Jesus touched my nostrils. I grabbed my four candles, and Tao handed me hers.
“Thank you.” I put the candles together on my desk with a silver lighter.

Oh! I almost forgot about the candle Giovanni gave me! While I was getting the stuff together, Tao had taken the time to braid the lavender and eucalyptus together in one long strand.
“Heh, thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome. This smells amazing,” Tao replied.

“Imagine what it smells like burning.”

Tao smiled and handed me the braid. By time it was 9pm, we were gently putting the stuff in one of Tao’s bags so we could leave for Ria. 200.

When we found the circle to stop at, I looked at Tao and reached into the blue bag. I sat the candles and lavender against a tree then Tao drew a circle in the air with her cold hand.
“This is the circle,” she explained.

“Alright. So, these four trees”— I pointed to the four gigantic oaks—”will keep the barrier.”

“Kay.”

Tao and I decided for her to cast first, so we grabbed all the blue candles and put them North, East, South and West to create a perfect cross. I lit the lavender, then motioned for her to step into the middle of the circle. Clearing my throat, I stepped into the little opening and began:
“I call for Ice to join our circle, and give back the gelid powers to Tao…” I rotated around the entire circle, waving the burning strand through the air. Tao sat in the middle of the circle, with her eyes locked on all of my movements.

I lit the first candle and continued, “Ice for integrity, Tao doesn’t even have to try.”

Second candle. “To be creative, and not to lose our spark, Ice for Imagination.”

The third one seemed to glow brighter. “Ice for Importance.”

When I lit the fourth, I could feel it. The short jolt of energy that ran down my spine. But, it wasn’t a regular energy—it was chilly and made goosebumps appear on my skin. “Ice for Individuality because no one’s the same. I call Ice to this circle!”

I quickly left the circle and closed it back up with a rock. (For a beginner, I said that beautifully.) All of the candles’ lights whipped up, and grew in size until Tao looked like she had four lamps around her. There was an energy. A light blue, glowing energy that ran candle to candle and cast a light upon Tao’s body. She was pretty much glowing herself. But, Tao had her eyes closed, and it was obvious that she was taking deep breaths, to inhale the faint scent of lavender, and to be more connected to her powers. We read in the book that using a part of the affinity was important to the circle, so, I clutched my water bottle, and screwed open the top. There was just ice in here. I grabbed all of the little cubes, then threw them into the circle with Tao and I was shocked. Shocked by how the ice just attracted to her, like Tao had magnets in her hands. She clutched them in her palms, and I saw the glow from her back. Her Maxi. Tao’s black top gave me a good view of her upper back and the light blue icicles glew a dark blue, and I knew it was from the Ice. Damn, she looked so calm and relaxed.

The candles whipped out, and everything was still. No glowing Maxi. No energy connecting the candles. A relaxed Tao. The air was very chilly, and I had an idea why. She opened her eyes, then grinned at me.
“That was great. But it’s your turn.”

I weakly smiled and nodded.

Tao stood up, then fixed her long hair—the Ice and wind had made it a bit messy. She picked up the blue candles, and I placed the Elements in their spaces. Air was West, Fire was South, Water was East, and Earth was North. I had the purple candle in my hand as I stepped into the middle of the circle. Spirit was the center. Tao cleared her throat then smiled at me.
“Sit down, and relax,” she said.

I plopped down Indian-style then put the Spirit candle in between my legs. Here we go…. Tao relit the braid, then waved around the air.
“I call the Five Elements to join our circle, and bestow the importance of our powers upon Eris,” she gently said as she circled the space.

Tao finished purifying then walked to the Air candle.
“I call Air to this circle. We breathe it in our first breaths, so it is only right that it be the first Element called. Come to her, Air!”

Breezy.

Second candle was Fire.
“Fire warms us with its passionate flame. I call Fire to this circle!”

Hot.

She sauntered around to Water then grinned.
“Water is a perfect balance to flame, just as Eris is a perfect balance to soccer. I call Water to this circle!”

Cool.

Earth would be quadruple thee best.
“Earth supports us and nurtures us. As the fourth Element, I call Earth to this circle!”

Grass.

Quickly moving, Tao crossed over to me and nodded.
“It’s within all of us, important and soothing. I call Spirit to this circle.”

Relaxation.

I felt a jolt of energy run down my body, and I shut my eyes. The water…. air…. fire…. spirit…. earth.

My ears were filled with the crashing of waves against the beach shore.
It felt as if I was laying in the grass, with flowers and tall trees around me.
The warmth of a fireplace on a cold Christmas night made me happy and bubbly inside.
Wind was whipping through my hair, like the strongest tornado ever was approaching.
Mmm…. I was relaxed, and it felt like nothing mattered except for being calm, and alone.

Waves of power and relaxation rushed through my body, making me feel so…. Like everything was in place. I could feel the heat, the warmth of a blazing fire. I could feel the cool breeze softly blowing in the spring. I could feel water running down my body in the shower. And I could definitely feel cool, calm and collected emotions filling my brain. Inhale, exhale. In and out. Take and give. There was a fluttery feeling in my lower stomach. My Maxi was glowing. Gently placing my hand on my navel, I could feel how warm, and how powerful my Maxi was. Damn.

Before I could move again, my eyes shot open and I saw the energy. Whoa…. Red, blue, white, purple, and a green energy twirled together between the candles. It kinda startled me by how close the energy was to touching my body, there was no telling what could happen. Tao had tossed five sheer scarves into the circle: one to represent each Element. But, even touching the scarves, it made me radiant to feel the power charging through my body…. like my old self was back…. and it felt as if I had never lost the power. Though I’d been in the circle for a minor time, it was like an eternal event, that nothing compared to.

The energy slowly dispersed… leaving me alone in the circle. The candles whipped out, and we were left with soft scents of nature, and the melted wax. Tao glared at me.
“That felt like heaven,” I breathed.

“See? I know a thing or two about casting circles,” she giggled as she cleared up our supplies.

I stood up, grabbed my candles and broke the annulus we created with large rocks. The circle was cleared and gone, just the scent of lavender and eucalyptus remained in the silent air. Tao snatched her bag up then we headed back to the dorms. I felt relaxed. Calm. And I hadn’t felt this way in a looooooong time; my powers had been gone.
“Thanks,” Tao abruptly said. “That was completely amazing.”

“You’re very welcome. Yeah, I didn’t know what Spirit would feel like until then,” I responded.

“Hmph, I felt a bit of Water while I was in the circle…. Is that normal?” She gave me a confused look.

“Well, it is Ice and ice is just frozen, expanded water.” I paused. “It’s not your strength, but Water still exists within it.”

Tao nodded. It was 10:30pm, and I had to make a stop at the library, so I alerted Tao to proceed back to the dorms. When I entered the library, Zara waved me over to the front desk.
“Did you finish the book?” she smiled as bright as the sun.

“Zara, that book is well over one-thousand pages, I can’t finish four in one night,” I lightly chuckled. Zara was known for finishing books in less than two days.

“Well, you can always try. Haha, what are you looking for?”

“Uhm—”

I was cut off by a hand wrapping around my midriff. It was Dallas, and he winked down at me to show he meant no harm.
“Hi,” he sweetly smiled.

I shook it off then turned back to Zara. “Spirit, please. Tao and I cast our circles.”

Zara’s eyes went wide. “Really?! That’s great!”

Dallas hooked his finger in the waistband of my jeans and kept me against his body while Zara searched for the book. She handed me a book thicker than I could fully grasp.
“Keep this, too. Was all well?” Zara curiously asked.

“Great”— I shoved the book at Dallas. “I called Spirit, too, so it was way different! Tao said she felt Water when hers was called.”

“Ah, that’s good! Have you any idea when you’ll cast another?”

“No, but, I really wanna shoot for next month. But, I’m not so sure on a date for next month.”

Zara gave a single nod. She looked past me then said, “Dallas, have you cast your circle yet?”

“No, what am I gonna cast for?” Dallas raised an eyebrow.

“Mister, you could cast for anything. It may not be as important to your strength, but it’d be a good idea. Yellow candles would suit you.”

Dallas curled his lip up. “I don’t like yellow.”

“Why not purple?” Zara gave a smirk but Dallas rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Dallas. Purple would be nice.”

“Purple’s for girls,” he grumbled. “And, I’m not that feminine.”

“To me you are,” I smiled.

Zara waved us off while she laughed. “Get out of here. Eris, keep that if you need.”

We walked away and Dallas followed me out of the library. While walking, he switched hands and palmed my backside with his strong grip.
“Hey!”

Dallas gave me an innocent look. “Ass is class, hun.”

I rolled my eyes when he tried to kiss my cheek. Dallas hooked the side of my neck and planted a big kiss on my temple. I made an unattractive groan.
“You love me,” he whispered against my skin.

“Who says? I could be playing,” I grumbled, playfully pushing him off.

“Oh, don’t fib to yourself. So, how did the circle go?”

“AMAZING! I almost freaked out when it almost touched me!”

Dallas frowned. “What is the ‘it’?”

“Energy,” I smartly answered.

“Ah, that. How’d it go for Tao?”

“Great, she really liked it. And, to purify, we used the lavender Nana gave me for Christmas, and found some eucalyptus.”

“Huh, cool. Do me a favor: cast me a circle with red candles and tell me how it goes.” Dallas flashed his half smile.

“No, baby.” I pushed his arm. “You have to do it for yourself, tell me how it goes. I’ll even help you.” I smiled up into his regular blue eyes.

“But that’s too much wooooork.”

I rested my head on his shoulder and we continued walking. Dallas stopped in front of the glass doors of the dorms, then looked down at me. He handed the book over.
“Damn,” I huffed as it dropped into my arms.

“Do you want me to carry it up? You’re kinda weak, Avatar.” Avatar was his nickname for me because I controlled the Elements, but Air was my favorite. Dallas stuck his hands out for the book and I just kicked his leg. “Ow, what the sh—”

“Hah. What’s that you said to me that one day… Don’t be a smartass, it triggers others to be an even smarter ass. Now I’m gonna say something: Don’t be a smartass, it triggers people to kick you!”

Dallas rolled his eyes before claiming my mouth. He cupped my neck as he bent down… pulling me closer to his delicious lips. We were standing by one of the picnic tables, so I put the book down and reacted with my arms around his shoulders.
“God, I want sex,” Dallas moaned.

“Not appropriate,” I giggled, gently nibbling his lower lip.

Dallas stuck his tongue into my mouth and I let out a quiet moan. He cupped my ass, then effortly lifted me off of the ground. I could tell he had been drinking cold water because his tongue felt like ice in my mouth, but it was the type of feeling that made my tummy flutter, and my heart become more of his. I wrapped my legs around his waist and Dallas slid his hands under my shirt, cupping my breasts and working his hand under my bra. He managed to squeeze my nipples, which made me wetter and my moaning get louder.
“Come back with me,” Dallas said on my lips. He teased his tongue on the hoops in my ear, and I groaned his name in pleasure.

“I’m sorry. But, I gotta go,” I smiled.

Dallas kissed my ear and whispered, “Fine, I love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye,” I smiled. He let me go and I walked up to my dorm.

Our hallway was pretty quiet, and Tao was laying down in her bed with a Sprite in her left hand. She looked up then nodded.
“Hey,” I wiggled my fingers.

“Hey. What’d you get at the library?” she asked. I handed her the Spirit book. “Oh, makes sense.”

“Yeah. What really makes sense is some sleep.”

I quickly showered, then came back out to lay down. Boing jumped onto my pillow and laid on my face. Her white fur got into my teal hair, and she decided to rest her tail on my neck.
“Can you move?” My voice was muffled by her body.

Eiee-ei-eeeie.

“Is that a no?”

Ei-ei-eeeeeeeeie!

Okay, that’s a no. By time Boing got back to bed, I was gasping for air and trying not to choke on her butt. I moved her to the side a bit then took the desired breaths. From across the room, Tao had her head propped up on her wrist while she watched me suffer.
“Damn,” I breathed.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re dying,” she giggled.

“Maybe I am.”

Tao laid down and Boing scooched her tush onto my shoulder. It took me a while to get over the fact that Boing had her ass all on me, but I eventually blacked out and fell into the world of my dreams.
====
Another great sleep, but terrible awakening. I was in the climax of my dream when my phone invaded. I was swimming in the middle of the ocean, with sharks circling around me, and I was following after a mermaid who looked exactly like my mother. The faint, muffled, distorted sound of the annoying tri-tone from my cellphone made me start to choke on water, and that’s when I woke up. I grabbed the device and saw who it was.
“Hey, Dad,” I sighed.

“Hello, are you still sleeping? You’re too young to sleep so late,” he replied. (Sounded a lot like my last dream.)

“Eh, yeah, what desires my attention?”

Before Dad could answer, I realized that Tao was on the phone with her mom. Lying down in the same position as me, and answering the same damn questions.
“Tao should be talking with Sumiko, but we need you two down at Ria. 42, we have something,” he explained.

“Okay.” We said our goodbyes then hung up.

I made my way blurrily to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water, trying to shock some awake into me. Tao walked in, then did the exact same thing. We brushed our teeth together, brushed our hair in the mirror and freshened up to leave.

Tao pulled on some low-rise jeans, with a crocheted top and her boots. I put on my shorts, a Nike tee shirt and wrapped my hair in a high ponytail. We quickly left the dorms and headed to our parents at the high school. Entering the front foyer, I could see Dad descending the right staircase from the upper-Professor floor.
“Hi, girls.” He bent down and kissed us both. “Upstairs.”

“Are we gonna be like, temporary Professors?” Tao muttered.

“Or guinea pigs,” I added.

“That second one,” Dad smiled. He opened the big glass door and we ducked under his arm into the hallway. Dad led us down the never-ending hallway, all the way to an open door where Chryseis, Sumiko and Professor Nolan were talking.
“Hello,” Tao and I half-stated, half-asked.

“Merry meet.” Chryseis bowed to us. “If you’re wondering why I’m here: it’s because I was the one to ask Nolan.”

“Oh, Chryseis, taking all the credit,” Sumiko laughed and winked at her.

“Hello, girls.” Professor Nolan crossed to us and shook our hands. He had dull yellow hair, with the brightest yellow eyes like a dragon. With an affinity for Reptiles, he had a Maxi on his neck that reminded me of scales, and I loved looking at it. “I know about your powers, and I think I can help,” he said.

Tao raised an eyebrow but I spoke first: “The thought ritual?”

“That’s it. It’s like a polygraph test, but, not all answers have to be verbal. I’ll be able to see your thoughts and words, it’s pretty fun to watch and fun to experience.” Nolan gave us a light smile. For a guy almost 6”10, he was like a cuddly giant. (Rian men were fucking tall, I had no idea why it was necessary.)

“Oh. Okay,” Tao and I dumbly said.

Nolan looked at our parents and Chryseis. “Er vew jiu zau quero?” They nodded and Nolan turned back to us. “Follow me.”

I directed Tao to the door and we followed Nolan out of the Professor hall. Very tall was all I could say to describe him. Anyway, he took us downstairs and through the halls toward the extra courtyard back there. Nolan pushed open the steel doors, and we were welcomed to an open concrete Yard—much bigger than our regular ones. I knew this place was used for rituals and whatnot.

“Sit on two sides,” Nolan said.

Tao went right; I went left (dominant hand). Nolan uncloaked a small table and I could see the stuff on the top: a candle, a knife and… I had no idea what that mason jar was for.

“Okay, girls. I wanna explain a few things before y’all freak. First, the candle is so I can recite the ritual, second, the knife is for blood, third, the jar is literally for catching important thoughts—” hold up, did he say catch our thoughts?! Nolan turned to me.

“Yes, I did, Eris.” (I knew the Professors could technically read minds—one of the reasons I was such a bad liar to Dad.) “Now, I’m gonna need a strand of hair from you two. Or, are your precious locks too important?” he grinned.

Tao plucked a small hair from her hair, I did the same. Nolan brought them to the table and smiled. “Now comes the blood. Arms or hands.”

I stuck my hand out and he pricked my finger; it stung, but the blade felt kinda good. Nolan dabbed the scarlet line with his own finger, then smeared it on his wrist. And the exact same with Tao. He stood behind the table once more, then began:
“Ner awq loh b’pina, sir fsut ca xixi munn,” Nalan pricked his own finger with the blade. “Dfe de dugn d’sance. Ca huj ecza Perlo!” Wow. I shivered and that was the last thing I remembered.

In what felt like two minutes later, I sat back up and looked directly at Tao. Before I could say anything, Nolan spoke, “Good to have you back, don’t say a word. Just think.”

I didn’t say anything. Tao looked at me and my mouth dropped…. her thoughts were floating around her in purple, blue and white.

Eris? Do you feel weird? Nolan, why does my head hurt? Damn, my head feels like shit. I need to talk.

She was looking back at me with the same expression. So I had thoughts, too?! Damn! Nolan cleared his throat and sat down between us.
“Girls, I want you to say one word a piece. See what happens,” he sighed.

“Hi,” Tao quickly replied. The word came out in a shimmery, sapphire blue fog.

“Eris.” The same fog appeared in front of me! Haha, this was fun!

“Okay, say four bad words. Cursing or a negative word,” Nolan said.

“Bad. Fuck. Lonely. Upset.” My words came out in a dull, dark silver fog.

“Good. Tao, say four things that are either happy or uplifting.” Nolan turned his eyes to her.

“Flowers. Ice. Dogs. Rainbows,” Tao’s words came out in a cute, fairy purple color. She smiled.

Nolan stood up then went back behind the table. “Since your powers are gone, we’re gonna use this to assist on getting them back. So, say or think anything you want, but, it has to be related to your power or any theories y’all have about them being missing. Get it, got it, good?”

“Get it, got it, good,” we repeated, admiring the blue fog. Nolan quickly sat the jar between our bodies then stepped back. I started thinking about how my powers got taken away, or how Tao’s did.

Two hours later, I was sitting in my bed and listening to music when there was a knock on the door.
“What?” I called out.

There were five rhythmic knocks—that was Giovanni. I quickly got up then swung the door open.
“Hey,” she signed.

I was shocked to see Dallas behind her.
“He wants to hang.” Giovanni exaggerated the signs then gave a sexual gesture.

“Oh so inappropriate,” I laughed.

She looked up at Dallas and he bowed to her.
“Thanks,” he said.

“Anytime.” (Giovanni could talk, but she liked to sign more.)

Dallas let her pass by then stepped into my dorm; he let out a wolf whistle. I hit his back.
“Grow up,” I grumbled.

“Damn, girl.” He pointed at the soccer posters above my bed, and the Fire/Water/Earth/Air ones by my closet. Dallas was gazing at the Hope Solo poster when Boing nuzzled his leg, making him jump back with a startled expression.

“Awh, you’re such a girl.” I bent down and picked up Boing. “It’s called a chinchilla: slightly bigger than a ground squirrel, and, her name is Boing. Hold her.” Dallas gently took Boing and she started exploring his neck area.

I had to change, so I yanked off my top and ran to the closet. Over the rows and rows of clothes, I just picked a basic white tee shirt then tossed my hair behind my shoulders. Dallas was sitting on my bed, laughing and playing with Boing while she scurried over the bedspread.
“Okay, we can go,” I announced.

Dallas looked at me. “Can we stay here?”

“Baby, you know you’re gonna be in a dorm… With 17 and 18 year old girls… Who like dicks… And you’re old…”

“I am not old, does it look like I have wrinkles? And, okay,” he chuckled. “But, can we bring this along?” Dallas waved at Boing like she was some grand prize.

I nodded and he sprang up with Boing in his left hand. Dallas waved to Mikey and Mumble then shut the door behind us. As we walked downstairs, I told him about Nolan performing the ritual on Tao and I.
“Hey, I want something to drink,” I said.

Dallas redirected me to the kitchen and I went to the fourth fridge. I could tell some of the girls were watching us talk; I felt their intense glares.
“Are you ready?” Dallas asked.

“Yeah, sure.” I took one last gulp of my brown pop then kicked the can into the recycling bin.

Dallas led me out of the glass doors and the cool breeze hit me. Very refreshing cool breeze. Since our pets could find us easily If they ever ran off, Dallas sat Boing onto the ground and she walked the other way as Dallas headed toward Ria. 200.
“So,” I asked, “what are we gonna be doing?”

“A walk,” Dallas replied.

“A walk? Since when do we go walking together? Is that like, some date?”

“No. It’s called I’m tired of not seeing the sun, so a walk.” He huffed out of his nose at me.

“Oh. Okay, walks are fun.” I smiled and tried to kiss his temple but Dallas pulled back.

He walked ahead then started running through the trees. I weaved around, and I saw him maneuver through the trees on my left.
“Dallas, it’s not funny,” I laughed.

“Then why are you laughing?” His sexy voice came from behind.

I stood still as he approached. “Because I can laugh at myself.”

Dallas snaked his arms around my midriff and pulled me back to him. He bent my head back, then kissed me good and hard.
“Hola,” I smiled up.

“Hey, Avatar. Come on,” he said as he let go of me. Dallas slipped his finger into the waistband of my shorts and kept me close while we walked further into the trees. Ten minutes into the walk, I slipped my hand under the hem of his tee shirt, and caressed his warm skin while Dallas attempted to push me off.
“Stop,” he grumbled.

“Why?” I purred, moving lower to his groin.

Dallas eventually pushed me off, so I walked with a big pout on, trying to make him give in.

He gave me a gigantic kiss when I noticed we had made it to the stream. The stream had two sides, and we were on the other side from where Aya started coughing and dying. But, this side had a massive hill behind us, and I could easily jump into the water. I was skipping rocks when I felt his hands on my shirt.
“Ah, what’re you—” the shirt came over my head. Dallas shoved my back.

“Get in,” he said.

“Baby, I don’t want to—”

He picked me up and I kicked my feet into the air, making my sandals fall to the grass. “Dallas! Stoppp!” Dallas brought me into the water and I gasped at how cold it felt on my warmed skin.

He put me on my feet but I was waving my arms around like an idiot at how gelid the water was. Dallas had his shirt off, and I was trying not to stare as I warmed up to the water.
“Have you ever been in here before?” Dallas asked, lightly pushing water on my stomach.

“No, but I’m guessing you have,” I replied.

Dallas nodded. “Come here, I wanna show you something.”

He took a few steps away into the water, but I hesitated before following. Dallas led me further downstream, until the water was just at the curve of my covered breasts. He went over to the wall then turned around to me.
“How long can you hold your breath?”

“1 minute, 23 seconds,” I replied. (Last time my friends took me swimming, we had a contest… And I was on the swim team for six years.)

“Okay. I’m gonna grab your hand, and you have to come under with me,” he explained. I nodded and Dallas grabbed my hand under the water. He dove under and I swam after him into a small, opening under the big rock wall. He popped up, so did I.

“Where the hell are we?” I panted, slicking my hair behind my shoulders.

“No one except for me and the Twins know this is here,” Dallas gently said.

The water came up to my shoulders, but Dallas had a bit of an advantage. He leaned back against the wall then looked at me. The space was big enough for probably two more people to fit in, the rock ceiling was about 7 feet up, and the water rushed into the walls.
“How do you know about this?” I asked.

“I used to come here all the time, when I still lived with the bitches,” he mumbled, looking around the water.

“Ya mean, Dayton and Dakota?”

He nodded. “I don’t come a lot, but, I make sure no one else finds it.” He smiled at me. “I guess you’re another person to know.”

“I guess,” I smiled back.

He crossed over to me and pushed me back against the cold stone, brushing his lips over mine and pressing flat against my body. (Thank God I was tall because I would probably be struggling to keep my head above the rushing water.) Dallas peered down at my bra; his lip curled into a smile.
“I’ll save you for later,” he said.

“Later? Psh,” I pushed the side of his face.

Dallas kissed my chest then whispered, “You taste good.”

I couldn’t say anything. His finger was trailing down my stomach, stopping to trace my Maxi and play with my navel. Dallas put his hand on my nape then started to kiss my neck, using his tongue to tease my skin.
“Baby… Mmm,” I moaned, running my fingers through his hair.

From the water, I could really feel how hard Dallas was—and how his dick was pushing into my lower stomach. I reached down, then softly massaged him through the fabric of his shorts. Before I could even wiggle into his boxers, Dallas stopped me.
“W-wait,” he said. I looked into his eyes (which were dark brown at the moment), and saw the lust in his soft pupils. “Follow me. I know somewhere.”

Dallas let his erection settle then led us out of the cave, and back out into the stream. He swam over to the shore and lifted himself out of the water, then turned around and helped me out.
“There’s a place up here,” Dallas said. He looked at the hill that had tall trees and grass and plants growing, then grabbed my hand so we could run. In a matter of minutes, Dallas had me at the top of the hill and kissing on my neck.

He cupped my ass, and ran his hand between my legs. I’d never imagined having sex outside, but with Dallas, I knew that it would be fun. He gently pushed me onto the ground then laid on top of me. Dallas grinded his hard on into me, putting his hand on the side of my neck to hold me still as he sucked and nipped on my racing pulse.
“Ahhh, babe… Ohh,” I panted, locking my legs on his back.

Dallas pulled back a bit and, with the gentlest touch, he unhooked my bra and pushed it off my shoulders to let my bobbs spill out. He didn’t pay much attention to my breasts before moving down my stomach to give my Maxi open mouthed kisses. He used his tongue to trace a pattern around my navel, with my hands on either side of his head and my hips grinding on his mouth.

One thing I’d never seen on Dallas before last week was his tattoo. Not his Maxi, but when he was 18, he got a tattoo of a horseshoe behind his left ear. Dallas usually cloaked it so no one saw, but he must’ve forgotten that day. And hell, I liked a guy with ink.

I lifted my ass a bit, and Dallas eased my shorts down my legs then threw them to the side. My already soaking wet pussy was heated and leaking with my juices for him; Dallas teased by rubbing me through my panties.
“Mmm,” I quietly panted, biting my lip and tilting my head back.

He dug his fingers into me a bit, and I almost freaked from how good it felt. A good two minutes into doing that, Dallas eased my panties to the side and played with my clit, lightly tapping and rubbing me. He snatched my panties down in one grab, then rubbed his thumb over my damp folds. I was gonna say something, all until he was pushing his finger a few centimeters into my me and wiggled around.

My mouth was open, but there was no sound. Dallas started massaging my tit in one hand, while he teased me with the other. As he grazed and maneuvered around all my damp pussy and aching flesh I went a little crazy; I arched my back high and moaned his name aloud. His fingertips forced into my pussy, but Dallas would pull back out then rub my thighs. He worked my boob in circles, pinching and playing with my nipples every few seconds or so. Dallas waited… he paused… stopped moving. Then it happened.

His finger pushed all the way into me, and I gasped at the sudden feeling, and he squeezed my chest again. Dallas had his middle finger pumping into me, to make me feel just right and just turned on. But, his hand was massaging me like never before; with a strong grip and his finger toying with my nipple. Dallas added another finger, then that was all I needed to start moaning and screaming again.
“Aghhhhh! Ohhhhhhhhh!”

If someone heard us, it was highly unlikely that they’d find us, because the place was completely concealed by trees. Dallas let out a moan with me when my pussy contracted, and he added another finger. Damn. His hand was vigorously squeezing and touching my breast, and honestly, I needed to touch myself too. I moved my hand down to my clit, and I rubbed myself harder as his fingers rapidly pumped into me. To have Dallas fingering me…. massaging my breasts…. and making me feel so, empowered. Dallas always touched me how he wanted, but he knew what made me hot (I mean, he did take my virginity and he taught me what he liked). As his fingers curled inside of me, I was moaning and exploring my body just as he was.

I placed my hand atop his, and squeezed and caressed my breasts. And hell, this felt good! Especially how Dallas was touching me. While he touched me, Dallas kissed on my stomach and played with my Maxi; his tongue trailed up the ink and to the curve of my breasts. He teased by lightly kissing on my areola, then moving back down.
“Dallas,” I half-panted, half-laughed.

He didn’t answer or react. Dallas pulled his fingers from inside of me and I opened my mouth to protest, but Dallas started kissing my inner thighs. He got closer and closer to my awaiting sex, but Dallas was trying his hardest not to touch, shit, he was teasing too much! And it felt kinda good…. I put my hands in his almost-white hair and forced him closer to my pussy. Dallas reached under me then pinched my outer thigh to make me stop.
“Mmm, please,” I begged. Dallas continued his torturous kisses on my legs. All while this torture was going on, Dallas’ cock was probably aching him to be freed; he’d been hard for a while. With a quick swoop of my leg, I pinned Dallas onto his back and bent down to his waist. Pushing my hair to the side so he could have a better view, I undid his jeans (being careful not to hurt the vital parts of his anatomy) and released the prize I’d been waiting for.

I kept my eyes locked on his as I took a long, teasing lick at his shaft. Dallas tossed his head back then let out a groan; I was getting him riled up… His eyes drew back to mine and I teased the tip with a big kiss. Okay, I knew Dallas hated teasing, and I deliberately looked at him with a sexy gleam in my eyes, and kept him waiting for me to suck him dry. He balled a fist in my hair as I swirled my tongue down his length. I was getting tired of the teasing as much as he, so I wrapped my hand around his thick cock and took him into my mouth. Dallas caressed my hair, and I could feel his body detense.

I used my tongue to lick the underside while my lips devoured more and more of him, all while pumping my fist after my mouth. I started to bob my head, and Dallas moaned to imply his satisfaction.
“Stop,” he firmly said. I wasn’t expecting that, but I lifted my eyes to his and sucked more.

Dallas tightened his grip in my hair then pulled me away from his cock. Fuck. I climbed up his body, straddled his hips and looked into his flaming blue eyes. As I sank down onto his hard shaft, we both let out different curse words, and I planted my hands flat on his chest. My hips slowly rocked on him, but Dallas was thinking something different; he grabbed my hips and starting ramming into me.
“Ughhhh, Dallas! Fuck, I’m cumming!”

Wow, was I that easy with him? Well, Dallas did get me close when he fingered me, and that blowjob had me on edge.

As my orgasm hit, I didn’t want to sound like I was dying, so I clamped my hand down over my mouth to stifle my reaction as the world kaleidoscoped into brilliant color in every direction. Dallas grabbed my hands and I had to scream out. He must’ve been getting close because Dallas slammed into me harder. So hard that I had to grip the grass beneath us to keep from falling. I scoochied a bit higher, so Dallas started licking and playing with my boobs.

Dallas used his teeth to lightly nibble on me, and his tongue to trace my areola. My hair was falling over my arm, but Dallas’ tongue was killing me; rolling and teasing and flicking my nipple.
His hands firmly squeezed my midriff as he moaned out his orgasm. And I was reaching another. In less than three seconds, I was yelling his name all while announcing my climax, and his cum shot high inside of my womb.

My chest was flat against his; I could barely breathe as I rode wave after wave of passion and lust and relaxation running out of my body. He caught his breath and said, “That’s another thing off my bucket list: have an amazing orgasm outside.”

I hit his chest before saying, “Shush. Hurry, we need to go and get our other stuff.”

I craned my neck, then reached over Dallas’ waist and grabbed my panties. He was trying not to stare while I slid them on, but it was kinda obvious to see his green eyes cutting into my body.
“Dallas, are you staring?” I said over my shoulder.

“Just a little, but, it’s no big deal.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

I quickly stepped into my shorts and pulled on my bra then turned around to him. He finished pulling his jeans back on then jerked his head toward the trees. Dallas led the way back down the hill, keeping his fingers interlock with mine. We stopped at the end of the grassy area.
“Walk or swim?” Dallas asked.

“Swim.” If anything, I was not going to walk over taking a nice dip.

“Since you say so…” Dallas pushed me into the cold water (it felt especially cold since I was raw from the sex).

I clenched my teeth then let out a hiss. “Get in, I can’t take all the suffering,” I said.

Dallas took his sweet time getting back into the water, obviously attempting to make me suffer even more. After he was in, I quickly dove under then swam the other way with him behind me. In five short minutes, we were where we first came in, and I could see our loose clothing articles. Dallas tossed my shirt to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I yanked it down over my head. We stepped into our shoes and shook our wet bodies (I was more like a cat; Dallas was a dog).

“Come on.” He jerked his hand out to me and I proceeded by wrapping my arm under his. Dallas smelt good. Really good. And his hair was still wet from the water, and it made him look younger. No matter how sexy and mountainous Dallas was, he always reminded me of a little kid; he just had this little spark. Especially that dimple in his right cheek; it made his smile brighter and younger. As we walked, he started a conversation:
“What are you doing later?”

I thought for a second. “Nothing really, probably watch a movie.”

“Hm. Okay,” Dallas flatly said. (If someone asks a question like that, shouldn’t they offer to hang out?) I was thinking about my question when Dallas asked, “Do you want to come over?”

“I’d love to.” I grinned but he just rolled his eyes. “When did you ever become so generous?”

Dallas gave my butt a hard smack (he was really an ass guy). He broke from my embrace, then turned around to me and walked backwards.
“I’ve been generous all my life. I just don’t need any help,” Dallas smirked.

“Oh, please. You’re as generous as a rock,” I laughed, trying to throw him off—which I did.

“A rock? How don’t you know that rocks are really nice, they just don’t like you?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Exactly. We don’t know if you’re actually nice, we just know that you’re a smartass.”

Dallas rolled his eyes and we continued walking.
====
Tao ran her cold fingers through my hair. “What the hell?!” I whispered.
“It was messed up,” she mouthed.

It was Monday, and we were sitting in Riate, listening to Brice talk about someone’s mom. The classrooms were all designed like the ones in college: a bunch of stairs, a gigantic-ass row of seats. And, we always sat in the last row back. Tao kicked her feet onto the desk and I gave her a sharp look; she pulled them down.

After Riate, the rest of the day zoomed by, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the library with all five of my books open on the table. In Spirit, I was reading about how it’s almost like a natural high when I cast a circle. Air was telling me about the power to “mist” myself—when I think about being invisible, and I pretty much become invisible. The thing that shocked me the most was what the back said:

Any and all of the Elements together will give one eternal powers…. Tusnced.

It said it was in another book! I trotted off to the front desk then smiled at Zara.
“Yes, darling?” she nonchalantly said. Her nose was in another book.

“Okay, uhm, I need a book. And, I think it is called Tusnced, for all of the powers,” I beamed. Another power would be so cool.

“Oh!” Zara tossed her book to the side and stood up. “Follow me, I’ll show you.” She waved a hand out and I followed her to the back room.

Bookshelves was all I saw. Dizam. I knew there were more books, but gosh! And Zara had read every single one—cover to cover! She walked me to a far bookshelf then sauntered down the narrow aisle. Zara stopped in front of frivehugic-thick books and seized them from the shelf.

“Tusnced, Reaxced, Quacvced, Fzaesced and Lopced. I highly suggest you finish these soon, they’ll be much help to you. I know you’re a bit troubled with non-existent powers, but, they’ll always come back. Here,” she smiled.

I thought I was holding a live human. “Thank you,” I weakly smiled. “Now, I’m gonna leave before I die of muscle strain.”

Zara chuckled as I quickly left the back room. Kicking the door closed behind me, I headed back to my work area, and I saw Dad down the bookshelf aisle. He was searching for something particular. I sat the books down then ran down to him.
“Hi.” I smiled.

Dad glanced at me. “Hello, Eris. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be finishing homework—”

“Finished. Now I’m studying.”

“Oh, ok. Well, you’re a bookworm, so, what are you studying? It has to be something interesting,” Dad smiled. His green eyes sparkled at me.

“My powers. Ya remember how Tao and I cast the circles? Well, I added Spirit, and, now I’m curious and reading the books Zara gave me. Oh, there’s another power that has to do with them, but that comes when I’m older.”

Dad nodded as he grabbed a book. “Hmph, that’s good.” He grinned at me. “Did you tell Nolan happy birthday?”

“32 and counting, though he looks 18,” I winked up at Dad.

“Eris, you must be attracted to older men.”

My eyes got wide, but Dad kept his gaze light-hearted, and I could see he was trying to hide a smile. “Dad! Not appropriate,” I scoffed, playfully punching his arm.

“You’re right, that wasn’t nice. Well, do you remember my 22-year rule?” he asked.

“OhmyGod, Dad. Please stop.” I cradled my face in my hands. I took a deep breath then answered, “No babies, or cutting my hair until I’m 22.”

Dad patted my shoulder. “Bingo. Now, I have to go and meet with a Prof. Bye, kiddo.” He kissed my cheek and left.

Damn, I really hated his rules. No, let me reword that: that rule got annoying. Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna have any baby-Daddy-drama for sure, I did not want that type of life. And, I liked my hair like this. Thinking about how I’d appear with short hair, I walked back to my table and got back to the books. Hell, these four new books would take twice as long to read; I was estimating a mere 2,000 pages—long-ass pages–full of Riate terms. But, it still had some english. Twenty or so minutes into reading Reaxced, my phone buzzed loudly on the glass table.
Dallas: Where r u?

I snatched up my phone and replied.

Me: Not with u.
Dallas: Answr me
Me: Library
Dallas: good. I’ll b there

(Sigh) And, here comes Dallas. I replied then sat my phone back onto the table, continuing on my page. A few minutes later, there was a hand covering my eyes and a sexy humming over my head.
“Dallas…” I irritably said.

“Hello,” he replied, bending down and kissing my lips.

Dallas released me then went to the chair diagonally from me. I gave a fake smile and continued reading.
“May I ask what you’re reading?” he asked.

“No,” I flatly replied.

“That’s cool.” Dallas swiped a book from the table and started reading. “Why—”

“Ya know,” I interrupted, “for a man who doesn’t go to school, you sure as hell like to come to the library… and annoy me.”

He smiled. “Thank you, Eris. You make me proud, but, I wanted to know why you’re reading these. These have nothing to do with your strength.”

“Katniss, I didn’t ask for your input.”

“No, I was an archer before Katniss made it cool. But, would that make you my Peeta?”

“Yeah, I’m the one who choked you,” I grumbled.

Dallas bit his lip and shut up. But, he started humming soon after… his leg was going a million miles… and he was talking a lot… and his energy was through the roof…
“Are you okay?” I asked.

His blue eyes shot up. “Yeah, I’m just bored,” Dallas sighed.

“Well, go home and play with the sisters.”

“Govea got back late last night, and, Hannah and Harley don’t like me.” He laughed at himself.

“Oh, sorry. Well—” I sat up straight and put the book back on the table—“you could help me with these books. And, I think you should get an idea to cast your own circle soon.”

“Hell no, Eris. What do I need to cast circle for?”

“Uhm, for a lot of shit. You could rid yourself of smartass, you could be more connected to Archery, or, you could even get Hannah and Harley to be your friends!”

Dallas crossed over to my seat and switched places with me. He sat me in his lap then wrapped his arm around my backside. “Okay,” Dallas sighed. “Read, I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you! And, I’ll go get a book for you,” I squealed, hopping out of his lap and running back to the front desk.

Zara looked up at me as I asked for the book. She handed me a thick book called Lyacve, then I hurried back to Dallas. He had his face in my book, with his forearms resting on his knees. Dallas glanced up. “Got it?”

“Yup, but take it before I die,” I said, passing the large tome to him.

Dallas read a few pages then his eyes got wide as he looked me dead in the eye. “Did you know that I could bless a bow? I did not know that!”

“See? Perks of having an amazing Eris as your girlfriend.” I put my hands beneath my chin and sweetly smiled.

Dallas stuck his tongue out then continued reading.

Two hours later, we were still in the library, reading and noting some enthralling stuff in our books. Hell, I didn’t know that Dallas could read so fast; he made me feel slow. He had two of his own Archery books on the table, and I had mine on my side. I checked my watch: 7:32, so I had a bit of time before curfew. The good thing was that the library wasn’t all that crowded, and I liked the quiet air—except for Zara ruffling around papers a bookshelf behind us. Wait, what?
“Zara?” I called out.

“I’m just checking,” she called back.

“No, we’re not making out,” Dallas added, smiling at me.

I bit my lip then curled up with my book. Honestly, I had no idea that Dallas liked reading; he barely talked while he was focused on the text. Directly at 8:00, we closed our books at the same time.
“Don’t copy me,” I smirked, setting the book on the table.

“I’ll try to more often. So, did you eat?” he asked.

“No. Are you asking to buy me food?” I grabbed my chest and made my mouth a perfect o. “Nooooooo.”

Dallas mimicked me in his cute way. “Yes.”

I smiled then nodded. “I’d love to eat with you. Are you gonna take them books home?”

“Those, proper grammar.” Dallas made a face. “Yeah, come on.”

“Yeah isn’t a word. It’s yes.”

He curled his lip as we gathered our stuff. I had my cross-over bag with me, so I stuffed my books into it and Dallas carried his under his arm. (We would come off as a nerdy couple.) We said goodbye to Zara, but she was in the back room. Her head popped out.
“Bye, you two. Keep those if you need,” she smiled.

“Thanks,” Dallas replied, stepping through the door with me. We went to the cafe, grabbed some late dinner and talked for a bit before it was 9pm. Dallas walked me back to the dorms, then stopped to sit me down.
“I have to go somewhere soon,” he gently said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Louisiana. My cousin wants to see me, and, hunting. So, I just wanted to tell you before Wednesday—when I leave.”

I rolled my lips in and out. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you when you get back, ” I looked into his brown eyes.

“Yeah—Wait!” Dallas’ outburst scared me a bit. “Go upstairs, change, grab whatever, you’re staying at my place.”

“O-okay, but you didn’t have to scream.” I flicked his head and Dallas smiled. “Give me 10 minutes, and I swear I’ll be back.”

Dallas stood up. “Even better, I’ll head down for you. Hurry up.” He walked the other way and I darted inside.

Five minutes was all I was giving myself to change, grab clothes for tomorrow morning, and put my stuff away. Tao was in her bed, listening to Kenny and on her cellphone. She went bug-eyed when I started removing my clothes and running around.
“What are you doing?”

“Dallas,” I yelled from the closet.

Tao snickered. “Okay. And, don’t be late in the morning or anything. I don’t wanna get you in trouble.”

“Got it. Do you have my Domo Kun hoodie?” (We were geeks.)

Tao tossed it from under her bed. I had on a pair of Nike track shorts, with a black tanktop and my hoodie zipped over it, and I had managed to tie my hair into a messy knot. Hell, it was nighttime, it was time to get lazy and not care. Anyway, I grabbed my bag and waved to Tao.
“Have fun.” She waggled her eyebrows at me.

I quickly shut the door then sprinted down the hallway. Sneaking out was fairly easy, few to none of the Professors walked around campus at night, and the dorms were close enough to stay hidden in the shadows. But, the only thing stopping me were the Sons of Erebus. I guess Brice and Lena had called them in for something; which meant I couldn’t pass by the mansion (though the mansion was 6 miles out from any other building. But the Sons knew how to cover ground). Lucky me, I had a shortcut through Ria. 200—there was a tree that was struck by lightning a few years back, and the split bark leaned closer toward the apartments. So I ran through the tall oaks until I saw it, then threw my bag over.

Hopping through the tree was easy—not cutting my leg wasn’t.
“Shit!”

Ugh, it really sucked being such a klutz. Anywho, I snatched up my bag then ran to the apartment building. (Aya had told me about the tree.) Knocking on Dallas’ door, I heard something. From next door…. I was about to step over to Bear’s door but Dallas yanked me into the foyer.
“Agh!” I unattractively exclaimed.

“Shush!” Dallas hissed.

I shut up and waited… He roughly pulled me into the bedroom then told me to sit still. I placed my bag on the hook. Dallas reached behind the bed and pushed it to the side a bit.
“Come here. Silently,” he whispered.

I went there. Silently.

He was pressed against my back as we listened through the wall.
“Maybe it was—”

“Shut up! You’re an immature idiot, and you treat everything like a game! You and your brother have no respect for yourselves nor others, and it is very stressing to have one eye on two 21 year-old kids, and the other on others!”

That. Was. Harsh. The first voice had been Bear, and the second to interrupt him was Lena. At least I knew she wasn’t meeting with the Sons.

“Okay,” this was Bull. “Lena, can we please talk to our—”

“Shut your mouth. I don’t care for Chryseis, nor you two. Since when is it rational to eliminate two dragons? Or six gargoyles? It is quite a shame that I can’t come back to campus with a good report; there will always be a set of Twins to piss me off. I hope that we’ll not have this problem again, because there will be extreme consequences.” She slammed a door and departed. (Is this her way of a grand homecoming?)

Two seconds later, Dallas’ front door opened and in came a storm. Bull and Bear weren’t fazed by it, but they weren’t quiet about it, either.
“Bullshit,” Bear grumbled.

“For once in my life, I want to rip someone’s throat out and stomp on them to death,” Bull added.

Dallas stood up. “What does she think you did?”

“2 dragons—”

“—6 gargoyles—”

“—and, stole a sword from Professor Hyllus.”

I barely listened after that. Two dragons, six gargoyles, and even stole something? Hey, Bear might be evil, but he and his brother would never think to do something like that. This was utter and complete bullshit. So much bullshit that I couldn’t even imagine how Chryseis would take it—she’d probably yell or stab them. (Kidding!) Did Brice know about this? Is that why he asked me for Bear late last week? And, when dragons & gargoyles are killed, or when something is stolen, the Professors and Warriors stop at nothing to find out who did it. Damn. Just to think, Lena hasn’t blamed it on anyone except Dallas and the Twins—could there be a reason? Come to think of it, the last time something like this happened, it was a stupid Sio (Junior) who did it. But, she and Brice found out that the girl didn’t know she’d killed the dragon, so they forgave her. It sure as hell wasn’t the same for Dallas or the Twins—Lena just jumped to some silly conclusion to make it them. I mean, I get that they’re older, but, really? And, Lena has been trying to rip my throat out for dating Dallas, and it’s not like I did anything! Right? And, Brice was never the one to alert them! Cruel. That bitch was just cruel. I knew that it wasn’t a coincidence anymore, but Lena was trying to do this. Oh, and why not have it happen when Eris’s best friend loses her powers and they have to cast a circle so their brains don’t explode? WELL, HELL!

“Eris.” I looked up to Bull’s sweet smile. “Two things: do you want me to fix your legs, and, you do know we can hear everything you just thought?”

I nodded and made a face before coming to the edge of the bed. Bull waved his hand over my leg, and once again, I had the warm feeling of doves fluttering around in my stomach. He pulled back and I was fixed up.
“Thanks,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, Domo,” Bull solemnly said.

“Don’t call me Domo, Domo.”

“Don’t you mean homo??” he replied.

“Derogatory term,” I chuckled, following them out of the bedroom.

“Look,” Bear sighed, “Bitch Monster Lena is trying to chew our asses out, especially me. So, Eris, can you use that little, Air power you have to kill her?”

We all sat on the couch and the chairs.

“No,” I answered. “One, I don’t have my powers back. Two, that would only be possible if I was in a circle, then I could help. Three, ask your mom what she thinks. Mothers always have the best perspective—mostly. But, ask her if she thinks you did it. If she says something like, ‘That’s not the point, my point is…,’ then don’t let her talk.”

“And, ask other Professors. They know more than us, so, Lena probably has some secret committee to hate on y’all,” Dallas added.

Bull nodded. “You’re right. Plus, the Sons of Alke, and the Sons of Erebus have been around lately–and they are so hot–so, maybe those dragons and gargoyles being killed is an even bigger deal.”

“I guess.” Bear stood up after his brother. “Eris, get to school on time, we have to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, brother,” I giggled, cuddling up on Dallas’ side.

“And you—” Bull directed his eyes to Dallas “—don’t sleep in. We have to do a bit more tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Dallas said, wrapping his arm around me.

The Twins exited the door then softly pulled it closed. Dallas let out a deep breath.
“Do you think she has a legitimate reason?” I blurted.

“Of course not. Nor does she have the right to say something like that,” he replied. I cupped the side of his neck and Dallas put his hand on my lower back. We sat for a while, then he carried me to the bedroom and tossed me into the bed. Before I could even pull the covers back, Harley and Hannah swopped into the room, with their impressive wings keeping them aloft.
“You two, out,” Dallas barked at them.

Hannah landed on the dresser and cawed at him, Harley got in the chair.

“Xan hsuvo liud nuuw,” Dallas firmly repeated.

They finally got the message then flew out the window and to wherever. Dallas shut the window and looked over at me. I yanked off my Domo hoodie then tossed it to the chair.
“Cute,” he said as he crawled under the covers with me.

“Uhm, shouldn’t you get into your pajamas?” I asked.

“It’s naked or everything, there’s no in between.”

“We can do naked.”

Dallas lightly hit me with a pillow.”Get to sleep before I suffocate you with this,” he joked.

I grabbed another pillow and hit him even harder, but Dallas put his hand on my arm. He pulled me into his tight embrace, hugging me down against the pillow.
“Dallas! I’m gonna die,” I giggled.

“Don’t die, go to bed,” Dallas responded. He pushed into me from behind and laid on his back. I stayed on my stomach, cradling the pillow to my chest.
“Goodnight, Eris.”

“I love you.”

I’m pretty sure that I went to bed before him, because I was out in two seconds.
====
Sahmi was talking about our powers and bodies as we got older. He asked a question,
“What are the three main body types?”

No one raised their hand. Wait… For real?! I raised my hand and Sahmi directed his gaze to me.
“Ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph,” I answered.

“Good. Wanna describe the differences?” Sahmi gave me a secret wink.

“Well, Ectomorphs are lanky, not a lot of body fat, and lean muscles. Mesomorph is medium, ya know, tall and athletic. And, Endomorph is kinda bulky, curvy or even just rounder.”

Most of Rian kids had been in Rianate all their lives, and even the smallest things were so easy to forget, since there were different ways to live here. But, hell, I had almost forgotten them, so, I couldn’t really talk.

Sahmi nodded. “So, you should be able to tell what type you are, all of our bodies are pretty much done growing. And…”

“How did you know that?” Tao whispered to me.

I turned to my left and met her icy eyes. “Magic.” She flipped me off and we continued listening to Sahmi.

After Riate and lunch, then came Art—and it seemed like Verc was in a good mood. But, we honestly never knew with her. She assigned us a project: an abstract painting, using only the colors yellow and blue. With a partner.

Tao spilled some blue paint into our little jar, while I mixed the yellow into hers. We were mixing and talking and preparing to paint when Verc announced something.
“This is a challenge for anyone who wants it: use wax on the canvas. See how that works.”

Wax? Oh! Once, I melted crayons on the lamp at home and the wax got everywhere, but it still came out pretty! I leaned over to Tao.
“Hey, crayons,” I whispered.

“Crayons? Hun, we’re not five,” she quietly chuckled.

“The wax. We can ask Verc for a candle or blow dryer.”

Tao stopped and thought… Her face was priceless. “Yes! Come on, let’s ask.”

We hurried over to Verc’s desk then smiled (we had to be suck-ups for the moment). She looked up with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, girls?”

“Okay, two things: do you have crayons and, a candle or blow dryer?” Tao asked.

“Yes. Is that gonna be your wax?”

“Mmhmm, blue and yellow crayons,” I added.

She stood up. Verc led us to one of the six closets lined on the back wall, and opened the door. Whoa. Who knew there were so many crayon colors?!

Tao chose three dark blues, and four bright yellows; I grabbed two light blues and a golden yellow. Verc shut the door then pointed to another one.
“There are candles, but no blow dryers,” she said.

“Thank you,” we smiled.

I told Tao to get situated at the canvas, and I was to grab the candles. Two people means two candles. Whoa again. In rainbow order, Verc had over 30 candles on the six shelves, and they ranged from short and stubby to talk and skinny. The skinny blue one caught my eye, so I reached in and grabbed it. There was also a skinny yellow one. (Way to follow through with the color.)

I walked back to Tao and nodded. Before Verc had announced the wax, we had smudged blue and yellow shades onto the canvas to rid of any white spots. And Tao had lined the peeled crayons on the top of the canvas, so when the wax melted, it dripped down over the paint.
“Okay.” I smiled then lit the candles. “You’re any color you want.”

“Thanks,” Tao said as she grabbed the blue candle. We barely even had to touch the flame to the crayons for them to start melting blue and yellow wax.

Art was really good (we weren’t done with our wax painting), and Math was just the same. After Math, Dallas texted me to come to his place so we could hang out once more before he left. Alright. I skipped Affinity Hour (like I had been doing for a month) then walked down to Ria. 24.

I walked in through Dallas’ door and heard how annoyed he was.
“Harley, I will be happy to deep fry you,” Dallas groaned.

Harley “yelled” back at him.

“I’m older! What are you gonna do about it, run off to Hannah?!”

Caaaaaaaghhw.

“It’s not gonna be funny when you’re on a plate… And all of your precious little feathers are plucked off from your body… And some weirdo in Kansas wants to eat you for dinner!”

I was standing in the doorway of the bow room, listening and watching them argue. Harley was trying to touch the bow Dallas was holding, but Dallas kept swatting his talon. He literally looked like a little kid trying to touch the water with his toe, but he didn’t know if it was warm or cold.
“Stop it, Harley!” Dallas exclaimed.

Caweeeeeagh.

“You eat vulture vomit!”

Cagghhhhhhh.

Harley flew up and practically screamed at Dallas. They reminded me of dysfunctional brothers: always arguing, hate each other, hurt each other, but they did everything together. Dallas put the bow back, Harley mimicked him by moving his gigantic wings out. Dallas turned around and waved at me, Harley turned his neck and lifted a wing at me.
“Vulture vomit?” I grimaced.

“Yeah, it is disgusting.” Dallas kissed my nose. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, kinda mad that you have to leave.”

“Sorry. But, a week without Harley is heaven.”

Harley made a grunting sound then flew out of the room. He really hated Dallas.
“So,” I said, “what are you doing?”

“Choosing one to take,” he answered.

“Hmm. Pick a color: red or black?”

Dallas thought for a second. “Red.”

I grabbed his bow with red bolts. Dallas made a “duh” sound as he took them.
“Thanks, that was easier than I thought,” he smiled.

“No need to thank me. Just worship me,” I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Dallas gave me a big kiss and squeezed my ass in his large hand. I broke away.
“Have you seen my hoodie? I think I left it,” I said.

“I dunno.” Dallas pulled away and walked out to the living room. “With Harley and Hannah, anything they find is automatically theirs. So, don’t count on finding it.”

“Eh, whatever. Can I—”

“Eris, you’ve asked enough questions. Shzhh.” Dallas waved his hands in my face.

“Well, gosh. Anywho, I was asking to ask you a question. So, may I ask another question so I can stop asking questions and we’ll be question-free?”

“What do you possibly want,” he flatly sighed.

I smiled. “Wait, so I can ask the question?”

“Eris!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But, I was just asking if you seriously want to cast a circle. Ya know, I’ve got this shit down. And, I think I’m casting one next month, or, whenever I have some free-time.”

“Well,” Dallas said, “that’s great, but, I don’t need one. Why can’t I just watch you?” He grinned, looking like a handsome little boy.

“No, Dallas. Do you know how awkward it is to have some idiot staring you down while you’re trying to concentrate?”

“Just block me out.”

I looked him dead in the eyes, and Dallas stared back harder. He hit my arm and I blinked.
“Damnit!”

“Haha,” Dallas smirked, poking my shoulder.

“Don’t do that,” I frowned.

He kissed my forehead then sat back on the couch. I wrapped my arms around his neck as Dallas cut on the tv; he rested a warm hand on my thigh. As I adjusted my body on the cushion, I reached behind my back and grabbed the pen that was secured on my belt loop. I had been drawing on my hand in Math, but I forgot to take the pen off. I hovered over my hand and finished the doodle I had started. I covered the entire back of my hand with a detailed drawing of a sacred heart; it was a design I’d been sketching since I was eleven. It had flames dancing up the back, a crown of thorns on top of it, a spray of roses along the bottom, and in the center I drew a scrolling banner with my name in the center. Dallas peaked over and seized my hand.
“Wow, that’s good. Nice,” he frowned in approval.

I bit my lip. “That’s not even half of what I started in class.” I rolled my sleeve up and Dallas chuckled.

“You should be a tattoo artist; you have a lot of creativity buried inside of you.”

“That’s actually my dream job.” I smiled and Dallas stroked my bare thigh. His hand went higher up, up until I gasped at his warm touch by my covered sex.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stop here,” Dallas chuckled. He brought his hand back down and I sighed. That sigh made the rest of my body realize how tired I was, so I sprawled out on his chest and Dallas put his hand on my hip.

“Good afternoon,” I yawned.

“Good afternoon, Avatar,” he laughed.

My eyes shut on instinct, and I only paid attention to the beat of Dallas’ heart. Bum… bum… bum… bum… zzzzzzz.
====
END OF PART 5
I ended the story with Eris sleeping because I didn’t want to blow your brains out with boring shit. This part isn’t all that important, and I didn’t just want to bullshit it. Part 6 will definitely be up tomorrow night.

-L11

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