The Young and Gifted

35. rhythm and tempo

warning: sexual activity

As expected, both girls got into trouble. They had to clean up the gym for a week without the use of their magic but they found a way to make it fun. To no surprise, Kaura would always bring music and Hope would horribly try to dance to it. More times than others, she would trip or fall and Kaura struggled to hide her laugh.

No matter how pissed Ric wanted to be at them, he had to give them credit for pulling out more information from the monster than he had. The Necromancer hadn't even uttered a word to him when he captured it. Regardless, Ric and Dorian analyzed the prophecy as much as they could and they didn't feel like they were completely in the dark anymore.

Kaura and Hope were in the gym, scrubbing the floors when the doors swung open. Mason stepped in and when he took in the girls, he grinned. "Well, well, well. If this isn't a sight to see."

"You better turn around right now and forget you're seeing all of this," Kaura threatened, wiping her exhausted forehead.

"Or what?" He taunted.

Kaura began to growl but Hope threw the dirty rag at his face before she could pounce. Mason cringed and she snorted. Hope got up to her feet, planting her hands on her waist. "Be a good friend and go get us some water."

Mason laughed, tossing the rag back. Hope caught it. "You must be joking. Do I look like a maid to you?"

Hope sighed, rolling her eyes. She walked towards the door, tossing the dirty cloth to the side. "Fine, I'll do it myself."

As the door swung behind her, Mason turned back to Kaura. She reached to turn the music off and muttered, "Hope told me you lost your bike."

"Didn't lose it. I...bargained it."

"Do I want to know?"

"Definitely not."

She spun to him. "I can force Dave to give it back."

"Oh, I'm sure," he laughed, slowly approaching her. "You and Hope seem to be getting close. Is it actually genuine or...?"

"It's...refreshing. For most of my life, I've known her as a problem. And now I realize that we have more in common than I thought. I'm probably going to fuck it up somehow though." She didn't know why she was admitting it. Maybe it was because out of the things he had told her about him, she felt comfortable talking to him. She really didn't know. "I always do."

Before she knew it, he was cupping the side of her face, gazing into her eyes. "You deserve to be happy. If you spend time thinking about how sad you're going to be, you'll just end up sad."

Something in her fluttered and she contemplated pulling away. But his touch was so warm, so protecting. "Mason..." she warned.

"You and I both know we can't be just friends, Kaura," he whispered. "So don't start on that bullshit."

Kaura closed her eyes, taking slow breaths. She knew he was right and she didn't know if it terrified or excited her. The only thing she knew was that she had to be careful after what happened with Raf.

"But I'm going to let you figure it out for yourself." Mason began to pull away, taking away the comfort Kaura had gotten attached to in seconds. As his figure began to turn, she grabbed his shirt and yanked him back. Mason was stunned for a second and he struggled to register what was happening until he realized that she was kissing him.

He didn't hesitate to seize the moment, his massive arms caging over hers. He pressed her unto the wall, assaulting her lips further. And in seconds, he flitted them into the hallway, the air whizzing around them. Soon they were at Kaura's door.