I hear Lily before I see her. "I am telling you, everything is OK! I was just out to run some errands." Her voice is rising as she rounds the corner, almost crashing into me and Mina. "Hey, watch it!" Lily frowns at us, silver eyes glaring down at us. She is taller than the both of us, and it makes me feel really small. I swallow my urge to make a snappy comeback, and take a small step back instead. "I'm very sorry. I didn't really see you there, coming round the corner and all." I am not apologising for Mina, as she wouldn't want to apologise anyways. I see Lily open her mouth to answer, and I decide to continue talking before she starts whining again. "Where were you today, by the way? We really missed you in class." I make my voice a bit extra sweet, making sure she understands the irony. Mina nudges my arm, but I shake her off. Lily's eyes darken, an I can see her response before she even makes a sound. "That's none of your business, Alexandra." She weighs the word down, and I feel my hands clenching into fists. I still make an effort to smile at her, though. "Oh, I'm so sorry for worrying about you. It must be such a pain to know that someone actually cares." Lily gasps, and Mina grabs my arm. I shake her off, this time more violently. "Let go." I glare at her, making her back away. She starts tugging at her hair, beautiful black curls that I envy her for. I turn back to the tall girl in front of me, pointing my finger at her. "Just so you know, I am already regretting ever wondering where you went. I would love for you to just stay away." I turn around, and rush off without looking back.
"Well that was a bit of an overreaction, wouldn't you say?" Mina is standing beside me, hands on her knees, sweaty after having to keep up with me to the other side of the schoolyard. I don't respond, leaning onto the concrete wall, staring at my feet. I feel a slight blush creep up my neck, though, and I don't like it. "She didn't do anything special, you know." Mina waves her hands in the air at the look I am giving her. "Not that I am defending her or anything, it just seemed a bit... rushed. You usually don't lose your temper like that. Any particular reason?" She moves over and leans on the wall beside me. I still refuse to respond, only mumbling something under my breath she cannot hear. She lets out a frustrated sigh, obviously trying not to say anything rushed. "I am just trying to figure out what it was. For once, you actually didn't have a reason to be mad. She was just gone for half of the day. I..." Her voice is cut off by the sound of the bell. I lift my head, pushing off the wall. Mina sighs again, trotting behind me. "Well, maybe it will help with some exercise. Ready to spar?"
"Ready to get your ass kicked?" Leo is pulling on his gloves, magically forged metal shimmering in the dim light of the gym. Other pairs have already started, sounds of fighting teens all around. Crimson walks around, commenting on our stances, hits and blocks. I grin at him, crouching down in a fighting stance. "I think I will be the the one doing the kicking here." I throw a few test punches, feeling my heart start to beat faster.
"We'll see about that." Leo winks at me, before lunging forward, his right hand aimed towards my left eye. My reflexes kick in, and I easily dodge the swing, but I am suddenly hit in the stomach by the redhead's knee, a move I din't see coming. The air gets kicked out of me, small lights appearing in my peripheral vision. I stumble backwards, jumping to my left and punching at Leo's torso. I notice my balance shifting too far to the left, and makes a half hearted jump on my left foot to steady myself. In an instant, Leo is over me. His hands grab my wrists, turning around and flipping me over his shoulder. I instinctively turn in the air, forcefully pulling my hands out of his grip as I land. I jump back up, punching at him, not really knowing where I am aiming. He blocks my punches, a slight green glow starting at his shoulders. I grit my teeth. Leo is a healer (D),yes, but he focuses a lot on strengthening aspects of yourself or others in advance instead of the healing afterwards. Therefore, I need to work quickly, or he'll soon punch twice as hard. I dodge a left hook, moving behind him to chop at his neck. As expected, he turns around and steps back. But as he does this, I lunge at him, both hands aimed at his chest. He stumbles backwards, arms flailing from the sudden impact. I jump forward, flinging a roundhouse kick at his side, just barely getting enough time to add a little punch of magic. He almost doubles over, arms still flailing to keep his balance. He jumps back, hands automatically moving to protect himself. The green glow has disappeared, a sign that he has lost his focus. I see my chance and charge at him. I feel myself accelerating faster than what should be humanly possible, my feet hitting the ground like drums. I am over to Leo in less than a second, hands pummelling him with hits, trying to make him lose his balance again. He blocks most of my hits, but I can feel his strength fading away. I feel my own muscles starting to ache, my shoulders hurting from the earlier impact. I decide to put an end to this, and shoots a right hook at his chin the moment I see an opening. He flies back, landing a few feet away from me. I double over, hand on my knees, sweat forming on my face and running down my back. I pant through gritted teeth. That was though.
