ᴛʜᴇ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀꜱ : ᴛʜᴇ ᴜᴘʀɪꜱɪɴɢ

|25|

• ＷＩＬＬＯＷ •

Dinner was a quiet affair that night. Raiden had joined my parents and me, and the atmosphere, although filled with pleasant conversation, held an undercurrent of tension.

Raiden tried to lighten my mood, and I knew he didn't mean for bad. But I was a resentful person so it was hard to forget these past weeks. But I was glad to have him by my side, and sharing these moments with my parents. I had missed him these days, I simply couldn't deny it. Especially not now that he was fitting so well here, with the three of us. Even Albert loved him, and spent most of his time trying to get his attention away from me.

The doorbell rang, cutting through the conversation. I excused myself and went to answer it. As I opened the door, I found myself face-to-face with a guy from our school, his expression confident and a little mischievous.

"Willow, right?" he asked, his voice smooth.

"Yes," I replied, my curiosity piqued. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Ben," he said, leaning casually against the doorframe, yet looking around as if he was suspecting something. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out. Maybe catch a movie?"

I blinked, taken aback by his forwardness. "I know who your are... uh, now?"

He smiled, a glint of amusement in his eyes, but it was like he was trying to hide apprehension. "Yeah, why not?"

Before I could respond, Raiden appeared behind me. His presence seemed to fill the doorway, his protective stance clear. "Is there a problem here?" Raiden's voice was calm, but his eyes held a warning.

Ben's eyes widened in recognition and surprise. "Raiden? What are you doing here?"

Raiden crossed his arms, his expression hardening. "I could ask you the same thing." I felt him close the little distance between us, my back almost touching him.

For a moment, Ben seemed at a loss for words, then he composed himself. "I just wanted to ask Willow if she wanted to go out with me sometime. Is that a problem?"

Raiden's gaze didn't waver. "It is if you don't know what you're getting into."

Ben's eyes flicked between Raiden and me, his curiosity now mingled with suspicion. "All right. I'll be on my way then. See you at school, Willow," he said, turning to leave. But before he stepped off the porch, he hesitated, and paused.

He looked back at me, staring deeply into my eyes. "Willow, which side are you on?"

His question hung in the air, heavy with implication. I watched him walk away, my mind racing. What did he mean? Did he know about my powers? About Raiden and the others?

I closed the door and turned to Raiden, my heart pounding. "Who is he?"

He frowned, his protective instincts clearly on high alert. "I don't know, but we need to find out. He seems to know more than he's letting on," he whispered too, ushering me inside and signaling me to be silent about this.

I nodded, my resolve hardening. "I'll go to the movie with him. We need to figure out who he is and what he wants." I whispered in his ear as I faked a hug to be closer to him so I wouldn't speak too loud—We still didn't have a clue if my house was bugged or not.

Raiden's eyes darkened with concern. "I'll be close by. If anything happens, I'll be there. But you need to be careful. There have been reports of people looking for others like us. We can't trust anyone."

Later that evening, after dinner, the tension from Ben's unexpected visit still lingered in the air. My parents had gone to bed early, leaving Raiden and me alone in the living room. The soft hum of the old ceiling fan was the only sound breaking the silence.