Sparks

♛ Chapter 6 ♛

The next few days I just sat in my room and waited for the message from Miranda to arrive. It was strange being by myself all the time. There wasn't really anything to do, but I couldn't go to the training room. It might give Alex the wrong idea. I started to think that maybe Alex was actually a genuinely good guy. Maybe Miranda was lying because she wanted Alex all to herself. But that didn't seem likely. She didn't seem like the type of person to get jealous. The only thing that could make me change my mind was if she was exaggerating. I just didn't know her well enough to judge her and I wanted to believe that she was a good person. She hadn't done anything to make me doubt her...it's just that I really wanted to believe that Alex was a good person. But I couldn't ask him without raising his suspicions, which was against what I had promised Miranda. I really hated being stuck against a wall.

I started playing around with my magic. I pictured a flame in my hand, and after a few seconds of concentration, a flame popped up. I furrowed my brow, and the flame became a white hot orb like it had in the training room. I poured all of my emotion into it: confusion, sadness, loneliness, etc., and after a minute or two, a glowing heat wave emitted from me. It was shimmering, red, and beautiful. I put out the flame in my hand and just felt the magic in the air around me. It made me feel happy, like something in my life could still be simple and beautiful.

Suddenly, the door burst open. My magic flickered, then disappeared altogether, my concentration broken. I turned around to see Alex staring at me. He looked amazed, then when he looked at me he started to look worried. "Zelda, are you okay?" he asked with concern laced in his voice.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, fully turning around.

"Well you just mastered Fire, and you're crying like nothing is ever going to be right in the world again," he said, stepping closer. I touched my cheek and realized that it was wet with tears.

"I'm fine," I said, rubbing my eyes self consciously. I bet I looked terrible. Then I remembered that I didn't care what he thought of me. The other part of me argued that it was okay because it was natural to want to appear presentable at all times.

"You don't seem fine. Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, slowly taking a step closer, as if I was a wild animal that would bolt at any second.

"No really, I'm okay," I didn't sound convincing, even to my own ears, and I could tell that Alex didn't believe me either, by the doubtful look in his eyes. I took a shaky breath. "Everything is just...wrong," I said, looking at the floor. "Everything is so wrong," I repeated, my voice breaking. I sat down on the bed, buried my face in my hands, and started sobbing. Just thinking about everything in my life right now was too much. I couldn't hold myself together anymore.

I thought Alex had left, so I flinched when I felt his hand touch my hair. When I didn't move away, he sat down next to me and put his arms around me. I held onto him like he was the anchor that was keeping me from being swept out to the sea, which he kind of was. I needed something to hold onto to keep me sane, and his steady breaths were like a heartbeat that told me that I could let go, if only for a while. So I did. I don't know how long we sat there that way, but eventually I pulled away. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I ruined your shirt." For some reason, that made me want to cry again, but I didn't. That would just make it worse.

"It's just a shirt," he whispered back, his breath fanning my face. I realized just how close we were, but I didn't move away. I wondered what had gotten into me.

"Why did you come here, Alex?" I asked, looking into his eyes.

"I came to apologize," he admitted. "I shouldn't have withheld information just because you said you didn't want to spend time with me anymore."