Sympathy for the Devil {Liam Stewart | The Darkest Minds}

19. Fairies

The party was unlike anything Mags had ever been to, lights suspended in the air, everyone laughing and smiling and dancing, no fear, so care free. She can tell by the way the other kids around camp are regarding her that she's sort of a novelty; they've got an Orange, they've never met a Red before, not one outside of the camps anyways. Zu's made friends with a few kids her age, and as moon hovers high in the sky, she brings them over to Mags, as if to introduce her, they're all loud and sweet and excited, and when they ask Mags to demonstrate her powers, it doesn't seem like an order, and she's happy to do it. The kids eyes are so wide as she tips her head back, letting a little plume of fire, only a foot long, cascade from her mouth.

"Hey, could you, uh, light our bonfire?" A kid, maybe two years younger than Mags, approaches her after the stunt, looking a little nervous, but she agrees readily, enjoying the attention she was getting. No-one asks her to take off her glasses, but she knows they're all wondering if the rumours are true, if her eyes are permanently red, and how they got like that. But they don't ask, and she's glad of that fact. The bonfire is easy, and the kid, a Yellow, he tells her, hugs her in thanks, before stepping back, looking a little bit amazed.

"You really... really are warm to the touch." He laughs, before shaking his head, smiling. "I heard that about Reds." He gives her a sunny smile and Mags feels Zu, who had followed them to the bonfire, take her hand. When she looks down, the little girl is smiling proudly at the boy, tucking herself against Mags side, as if to say 'she's mine'.

She doesn't notice it at first, until she realises she's doing it too, but the Betty crew are possessive of one another around all the new people; she and Chubbs chat with a group of greens and blues, Chubbs rests his arm on her shoulder and she slings an arm around his waist, she dances with Zu, and the moment someone steps too close, she picks Zu up, letting the little girl cling to her as the two sway together, laughing and grinning at one another. Ruby keeps to herself mostly, staying by the campfire and talking to the others as they came and went, Mags tucked herself close, arm around Ruby's shoulder as they watched the fire, talking about everything that had happened, how it felt to finally have found safety after being on the run, before Mags goes to get herself a drink.

Liam is, of course, the worst about it, and smiles all the while. He knows exactly what he's doing when he wraps his arms around Mags as she's just fished a sofa from a cooler, stepping backwards to pull her onto the dance floor.

"If this spills, I'm gonna be so pissed." Mags mused as she turned to face him, smiling despite her words. Liam grins at her, taking the drink and gulping enough down that it wasn't likely to spill, before giving it back to Mags. "Rude!" She laughed, but downed the rest of the drink, stepping forward to wrap her arms around him and sway to the beat. Liam's expression softens and he leans down to rest his forehead against Mags' as they dance, letting himself relax, letting himself breathe like he hadn't done in months.

"We're finally here, aren't we?" He murmurs, his eyes are closed, smiling gently as he feels Mags nod. Mags loves having him so close, close enough that she can see his faint laugh lines, the curve of his eyelashes and the faint freckles that are peppered across his skin. His eyes flutter open, and Mags blushes pink, having being caught admiring him. "What?" He asks softly, and Mags' blush deepens.

"You're incredible, Liam." She tells him, and his smile is the one that she knows he only wears when a compliment means a lot to him, the one that creases the corners of his eyes, that brings out his dimples.

"It's the lighting, it does wonders." Is how he responds, amused, taking a moment to look up at the golden light pouring from the floating light bulbs above them, and Mags rolls her eyes, smirking.

"God, you're a dork-" But he cuts her off with a kiss, smiling against her lips. Mags lets herself laugh as he pick her up and spins her around. Once he puts her down, the two break apart, a little breathless, and take a moment to survey their surrounds. It's Ruby that Mags spots, alone and watching the fire, looking small and contemplative. Moving to take one of Liam's hands, Mags gestures to Ruby with a soft smile.

The two of them approached her, Liam taking a seat beside her while Mags sat by the fire, poking at the burning sticks.

"Wow, floating lanterns." Ruby mused with a grin as she took note of her company. "This is like Hogwarts." She half laughed, surveying the scene, immediately brightening up around the other two.

"Wait, that would make you Harry, right?" Liam asked, playing along. Mags frowned, the reference going over her head. "And me... Hermione? Or Ginny Weasly, right?" Liam asks Ruby, and she turns to him with a cheeky smile.

"Well, Ginny and Harry end up together." Her smile was so warm when she turned to him, eyes sparkling with mirth, and Liam burst out laughing.

"Well okay, maybe it's not the best comparison in the world." He mused, bumping his shoulder against hers as he cast a look to Mags, Ruby followed his gaze, still laughing fondly.

"I'm sure we can find something more suitable." She mused, before raising her voice enough to include Mags in the conversation. "Right, Mags?" Mags looked up, eyes wide and smile a little sheepish.

"I genuinely don't know what you're talking about." She told them with a shrug, and Ruby's eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise, a look mirrored by Liam when she looked to him.

"We're gonna get her into Harry Potter, right?" She asked, and Liam nodded profusely.

"Of course. That's not even a question." He said, and after a moment, the two of them broke out into another fit of laughter. Watching the two of them, so happy, so bright, something in Mags' chest tightens and she can't help but smile, so overwhelmed with love at the sight of the two people she cared about the most so full of joy, able to enjoy themselves without fear. Something about the sight filled her with a sense of contentment, like they could finally stop running, like her family was finally safe and happy. With this sudden enthusiasm for life, Mags hops to her feet.

"We should dance." She proposes, smiling brightly, stepping back towards the other dancing kids. Liam smiles, joining her without hesitation, though Ruby shook her head, blushing lightly and denying them. Mags had begun swaying while Liam shrugged lightly as a fake-out before miming throwing an imaginary rope to pull Ruby with his powers over to them.

"It's okay, we won't hurt you." Liam grinned at her, steadying her once she was on the ground.

"I know." She assured him with a laugh, and Mags took a hold of the fabric of her shirt by her elbow.

"That's right, she's the mind reader, remember?" Mags twirled Ruby gently, letting go of hand as it was raised and letting Ruby do the rest so their hands never made contact.

"I'm not a mind reader, I can barely understand my own thoughts." Ruby came back from the twirl and almost immediately reached out to catch Mags' sleeve, drawing her in so Ruby could place a hand on her hip, and a hand on Liam's shoulder. They danced close and quiet, forgetting the rest of the world existed, just in this moment, swaying together in time.

"You're really beautiful." Liam told Ruby softly, and Mags' smile was so fond as the other girl looked at him in confusion.

"What?" She asked, and Liam half laughed, looking to Mags.

"He said 'you're beautiful', darlin'." Mags reiterated, and Ruby looked taken aback, whether it was by the tenderness of the pair in their message, or, and this was the sadder thought, that no-one had thought to tell her that before, and after a moment, she couldn't help but smile. It was a slow burning smile, and Mags knew it well, it was fond and kind and full of love. As Ruby rested her head on Liam's chest, she tugged at Mags' hip, pulling her in to do the same on the other side of his chest.

The three of them, so close, Liam presses a kiss to the top of Ruby's head, and Mags thinks that this might be her favourite place in the world.