Hidden Heroes

T₩€NT¥~4

I helped Luna lay on my bad and walked downstairs. I clipped my hair out of the way and I glanced at Zachary who was in the kitchen, looking through the cabinets.

"You don't have a kettle?" he asked, looking back at me.

I shook my head. Was that weird?

"Um, what did you want to make?"

"You have tea packets here so I thought I would make tea."

I grabbed a pot from the drying rack and filled it a quarter with water. I turned on the fire and placed it on the stove, waiting for it to boil. It was traditionally how we made tea, just in a pot. Kettles really only served one purpose so I guess we never thought it was necessary to buy one.

"I can handle this," I told him, since he made it apparent he makes tea a different way.

I sat on a bar stool and motioned for him to sit on the other. I crossed my legs and looked at the pot.

"So, nice place," he said, trying to start a conversation.

"You don't have to lie, Zach. We're pretty poor."

He looked at all the notices on the fridge pinned up by goofy little magnets. You never really know what you want to keep or throw away so most of the magnets I've had since I was eight. Some of the papers was just photos and a calendar, then my acceptance letter to HA. I didn't remember hanging that up.

"Don't pity me," I told Zach. "We manage well."

"I can tell. And I don't think it's bad, it's nice in here. The walls are thick and there's enough walking room."

I smiled and hopped off the stool to put the tea in the pot. "Yeah, I tell myself the same thing."

He flipped through a cookbook I left on the table. I had a few pages marked for recipes that I wanted to try but never got the chance to do. It's always school, visiting dad, going to the doctor, the library, literally anything but staying at home.

I grabbed two mugs from the cabinet and poured the tea. I slid one across the island and plopped back on my seat. I looked down at the one page he was staring at, a Valentines' Day special.

"It looks good, doesn't it?"

He nodded. I glanced at the heart-shaped chocolate covered strawberries and the red velvet cookies.

"Maybe we can make them one day, if they intrigue you so much," I teased.

He finally looked up, but not at me. I whipped my head around to see Luna standing at the top of the stairs. She looked frazzled but she was okay.

I got up and walked up the stairs. She squinted at me, then her eyes filled with realization. Tears streamed down her face.

"Fable! I-I am so sorry. I d-don't even know what happened."

I wrapped my arms around her and shushed her. "It's not your fault. Besides, we're safe, right?"

"But he said-"

"What? That idiot Jason has no clue what he's talking about. Everything will be alright."

She gently pushed herself away from me.
"But then it's true, isn't it? The entity, it's going to destroy the real you. And you're just going to be a vessel to it."

"That's now how it works." I led her to the bar stool and offered her my untouched cup of tea.
She took it and sipped it, wiped her tears and looked at me.

"The entity gives me an aberrant so if it were to become too strong, I would be carrying its powers. If it completely takes over, I'll still be me but it'll be my boss. I'll just be a mindless servant, my conscience buried real deep in my brain."