Shattered

-Chapter 12-

Marina walked towards the door.

"I'm getting tired of this."

"If you want to leave, then fine. See if I care!"

"Oh, you will, Elisa, because you'll realize that making this all about Ian is ridiculous."

"Ridiculous, you say? You're like his puppy dog. You'd do anything for him. Even ignore your friends."

"Well, maybe I don't feel comfortable talking to someone who has been cooped up in their room for days without an explanation! You haven't even gone out for food!"

"When you offered me food, you drugged me."

"I had to! I did the same thing to everyone else but Matt!"

"I'm leaving."

"To do what? Go to hang out with your boyfriend again?"

"You're the one who said he liked me!"

"Yes, but I never said to do crazy stunt stuff to get his attention."

"Forget it. If you're not going to be understanding, then I might as well not talk to you about this kind of stuff."

"You don't mean..."

"Oh, yes I do, Elisa."

"You can't just stop being friends with me. What about Britney? She doesn't have a clue about this."

"She does now."

Marina held up her phone, showing the text she sent to Britney.

"That was last week. You don't even spend time with us anymore."

"What about the team?"

"We don't need to be friends to be in a team. Goodbye."

"Fine. If you're going to be that way, then leave!"

There was a long pause.

"What is it, Elisa?"

"It's just...None of this is fair."

"NO SH*T, SHERLOCK!!! HOW FAIR DO YOU THINK THIS IS FOR ME??? I DIDN'T WANT TO BE FAMOUS AND TORTURED, AND NOW I'M GETTING TREATED LIKE CRAP BY MY "FRIENDS"."

"Marina-"

"I DIDN'T TRY TO GET SO CAUGHT UP IN THIS, SO PLEASE, DON'T ACT LIKE I WANTED THIS."

"..."

"Good-bye."

Marina stormed out, puffing her chest out in pride. She slowly released her pose, giving insight to the truth: she was a wreck. She ran out of Elisa's house, trying to find the way to Angelica's. When she got there, everyone was in there, except for Elisa, and turned to look in her direction. 

"Hey, Marina! Good to see you. Where's Elisa?"

The question felt like a jab in Marina's stomach.

"She's busy. What's going on?"

Angelica looked at her shoes.

"I'm going back home."

"Oh..."

Marina shifted her position.

"Why now?"

"When I cast the spell, I lost my powers. Since that redeems me, my superiors want me to go back to my true home."

Angelica looked up with joyful eyes.

"I've prepared parting gifts in the basement. Come on!" 

Marina gave Ian a confused look but nonetheless followed the angel downwards. This is when Marina saw the actual lab. It was filled with test tubes, microscopes and all sorts of things Marina didn't know the names of.

"Each of you will get two gifts. The first set is the same for all of you."

Angelica handed them all bottles with a single glowing feather inside.

"Those are special. If you ever feel like the darkness is surrounding you, use it to guide your way through it. The next set is specific to each of you. First, one for Matt."

Angelica handed him a portable holder for his test tubes. Behind Angelica, Marina could see a pair of glasses that had Dezra engraved on them, which gave her a quick reminder of her incoming gift.

"This one's for Elisa."

Angelica handed Marina a necklace with a blue pendant with an engraved symbol on it.

"It should strengthen her powers. Now for yours."

Angelica looked away from her.

"This one is actually a joint gift between you and Ian. It's not physical, but I'll give you a hint of where it is. It's split in two, and trapped inside of you."

Ian thought for a moment, then spoke up.

"How do we get it?"

"I'll let you two figure that one out together."

Angelica checked a silver watch.

"I need to get going soon. Farewell!"

"Goodbye!"

Everyone bid adieu in unison, then checked out their new gifts. Ian and Marina looked at each other, wondering what Angelica could've meant by her message.

"I'll put this in Elisa's room."

"I can come with you."

"You don't have to come along."

"Eh, got nothing else to do."

Marina acted sassy for a bit, then went up the stairs. After placing Elisa's present on the nightstand, Marina walked into her room. Ian followed at a swift pace. They sat on Marina's bed, finally taking time to ask questions about what has happened for the past few days.

"You can thank me for that ominous hint."

"How so?"

"I made a sacrifice. Without the sacrifice, Angelica wouldn't have been redeemed."

Ian glanced at Marina with a look that said what he was thinking.

"Oh, come on! She would've eventually gone home and then she would give us the new duds."

"First of all, she confirmed that she was eons old, then she had a spare for Dezra. She could have easily given them to anyone, including a lying demon."

"Nobody saw that coming, though."

"Exactly."

Ian shook his head.

"This is why I can never have an argument with you."

"Oh, really? I'd say that this is more of a debate."

"This is a perfect example."

Marina smiled, shooting Ian a look of pure joy.

"Is that really the only reason why?"

"Of course not!"

"Then what else is it, then?"

Ian shot Marina a glance she had only seen once before, and that time, well... Ian leaned closer to Marina, pushing a piece of hair away from her face. They smiled at each other leaning closer and closer until... Matt walked past their room, making a face silently. After he was out of earshot, he vented out.

"Ew. If I ever get in a relationship, I don't want to get all smoochy around people. Especially if I forget to close the door."