Going Your Own Way, but with Magic

Chapter 20

I wake up with Jamie sitting at the foot of my bed. Find a cute boy, get him into your bedroom... "Did I not lock the door?" Great opener, very romantic. I sound paranoid. I am. I always lock the door, and welcome as this intrusion is I'm panicking.
"Did you mean to? It was unlocked, so I went in. Did you not want me to? I'm so sorry if-" I wave away his apology. I forgot to lock the door. Since I've been staying here, I have never once forgotten to lock the door. I've left the shop without shoes on and went to the park with my coat inside out, but I have never forgotten to lock the door. I push all the thoughts away and make myself smile.
"It's nothing. What's the matter?"
"Nikki wants to meet us. Fair warning, she might be very mad at you. She sounded calm over the phone, but you can never fully tell." Nikki. Nice (if occasionally scary) Nikki with the dark pink hair. I am alive. I realised on the way down that I'd be alive for her to yell at me. My smile has grown wider and more genuine. "But I'll tell her to wait if you need more rest. She won't be mad. About that, I mean. She can wait to be angry." He cares. For his friend, you besotted moron.
"I'm not sick. I was a bit tired and a bit shaken, and now I'm totally fine. Bored, honestly. I want to do stuff. I can do stuff." I prove this by jumping to my feet and contradict this by immediately falling back onto the bed. "Leaving in five?" Jamie is half-grinning and I realise I'm being predictable. I try to glare and utterly fail.
"Leaving in five."

It's an office. Actually, it's a room off the warehouse that until, at a guess, half a day ago, has been used for storage. But we'll all pretending it's an office and politely ignoring how Nikki's sticker-covered laptop is perched on top of a crate. As soon as we walk in she pulls us into a hug so tight I swear I can hear bones cracking. When she lets us go, she does her best to glare. It's not very convincing. She pulls up a photo on her laptop and spins it around so I can see. "Do you remember this, Max?" It's me, floating above London. I am standing very elegantly (is standing the right word when there's no floor?) with a mad smile on my face. I look like someone who's been let off death row, blinking in the sunlight and all. My hair is floating quite prettily behind me, and if you imagine me in a wedding gown or something I could look almost regal. I'm not sure what the right answer to that question is, so I settle for shrugging. "Alternate question. Do you know how much work it is going to take to cover this up? Of all the ways to escape, it really had to be floating out of the sky over one of the busiest streets in London?" Despite the crate desk and all the stickers, Nikki looks quite menacing. I'm not sure where to point my eyes, so I become fascinated by my shoes. "I have not slept in the last twenty-four hours because I have been sorting out this complete shitshow you have created." There are dark circles under her eyes, and I add that to my 'crushing guilt' list.
"I'm sorry, but I- I mean I didn't-" She cuts me off with a hand wave.
"Jamie's told me the entire story. Texted me at midnight last night, in a very cute entreaty to go easy on you." Now Jamie's the one avoiding eye contact. He fully turns around to stare at the door and I try not to laugh. "And, this time, there were extenuating circumstances. But if you ever do anything like that again, I will kill you slowly." I don't know if she's joking, and honestly I'm not going to test that one. I never thought I would get so overdramatic I starting breathing sighs of relief. I breathe a sigh of relief. It's fun.
"Now, there's another meeting. I think you might like to go." Because my last one went so well. I should refuse, but Nikki's smiling in a 'I know something you don't' way. For that matter, so is Jamie. Something good might be about to happen. Also, I hate not knowing things. I push the door open, only somewhere between 'meeting the in-laws' and 'handling a live snake' on the wariness scale.

It's a different mix of people this time, but keeping the general 'freaks and weirdos' vibe. There's a makeshift stage, and the seven non-leaders are sitting in folding chairs. Everyone's smiling at me. I start to smile back and then realise I look like an idiot. My frown muscles are not, in fact, broken. They're working very nicely. It's not quite all freaks and weirdos, actually. In the corner are about twelve boys. All white, almost all blonde, wearing dress shirts and blazers. They look like a posh choir got lost, and they look terrified. Some are staring at the floor, some accidentally make eye contact and then get death glared. These boys are not supposed to be here, and people do not like them. Nikki introduces me, with slightly more flair than I would have liked. "And she is going to tell us all about her daring escape!" I'm surprised she doesn't get fireworks and streamers to emphasise that point. It takes me a couple seconds to clock that I'm meant to talk now. Great. Talking. To people. About myself. Always been great at that, no problems at all. I stammer through an explanation, trying to downplay the part where I one hundred per cent fall for her lie about my parents. Everyone stares, but when I finish they all make a concerted effort to talk amongst themselves. It avoids an awkward silence and for that I am eternally grateful. So the floor here is really cool, huh? Miranda stands up first.

"We don't interfere. That's are only rule. But Cecelia is hurting innocent people, and the Elders clearly don't give a shit. There comes a point where we can't stay neutral, and I think that's now." She's flushed, showing emotion for the first time. Nova stands up as well, although they say nothing. It still means something in a way words can't express.
"She's doing bad shit. We have to stop her." A girl with orange hair in a studded jacket sums it up nicely. People are standing up now, some muttering and some jumping to my feet. I am not going to cry and I am definitely not already crying. This would be a stupid and pathetic time to cry. Anywhere but now, thank you. I bite the inside of my cheek very hard.

The blonde boy in the middle stands up, his face a remarkable shade of green. He looks like he's wishing he were anywhere but here.
"I- we- would like to-" He's drowned out by yelling until Nikki screams for order. "I...thank you." He doesn't look much more ready to talk with everyone looking at him. Not kindly, either.
"We are a delegation from the Iridesce School of Magick." People hiss at the time. "And, um...unofficial delegation. The magic users properly equipped to deal with this situation refuse to act, while people are being hurt. We know there is...animosity between us, but you are the only people brave enough to fight. And we want to help." His face hardens through the speech, and the nervous boy gives way to a warrior for a second. People are looking at them with a lot less hatred, and their skin looks much more normal. The talk slowly dies down and then it becomes obvious that people are looking at me. Well, shit.

"This- this is- this is...thank you. Thank you all. With our combined power, Cecelia will not stand a chance." People look hopeful, people look expectant, and now I have to tell them I have no idea what to die. "But I'm afraid I have no plan. I'm sixteen, I discovered my magic a couple months ago. I don't know how to defeat a spellcaster with power beyond the limits of my imagination while also keeping magic secret in an urban centre. I'm sorry." I hate admitting that I'm useless, but it had to be done.
"Max, no one is expecting you to have a plan," Miranda says gently. "We are not relying on two sixteen year olds to save everyone. We will all help form a plan. I cannot and will not stop you from fighting with us, but the weight of this is not on your shoulders." The first thing I feel is relief but under it, bizarrely, is disappointment. I was enjoying this. Playing god is fun, and it gives me purpose, and there's a whole lot of stuff I have to stop and figure out when this stops. But they're right. I have no plan and I shouldn't have to make one.
"Thank you. Again. I- this is- you-" I gesture helplessly, and Jamie steps in.
"Thank you. All of you. This is what's right." He says it with total, unarguable conviction. It's so simple, and so obviously right. His shoulders are back and his arms are by his sides and his eyes are sparkling. It's amazing to watch. The people shouting seem to agree with me. I walk in a daze back to Nikki's office.

Words continue to desert me so I stare at my shoes. I've stuttered through about five thank-yous (never getting the words right), and Jamie is taking over the talking. I love him. For that. Platonically. Casually. In a business sense. "Go home and rest." I want to dramatically refuse, but I am barely standing. Going home and resting sounds very appealing. Also, Miranda's tone does not invite argument. I let Jamie half shove me outside, leaning on his arm, and we get the bus back. He's invited himself to stay with Mr Bates now. I don't think he's very eager to go home.

We pass a blissful few days pretending to be normal teenagers. He constantly checks to see if Nikki's called, and I sometimes wake up shaking. But we ignore these, and keep on faking. I show him to my magic practicing field and we make attempts to show off. I set yet another fire and he nearly floods the town. The field is too waterlogged to go in for a few days afterwards. We sit on park benches talking about unimportant things and wander aimlessly around shops and it is heaven. It's a taste, made no less tantalising by it's impermanence. It's a taste of the normal life I will never have and I don't want it to end. When Nikki calls, I am almost angry with her for shattering the illusion.