this is our legacy now - kam (the legacies series 1)

4

surprisingly enough, the next morning, tam felt more okay than he had in weeks.

after reading four chapters of a human book that had somehow ended up on the floor of his room (the plot was rather hard to follow, something about magic & wizards & a boy named henry or something) tam went into the kitchen to make himself some lunch. he was gazing into the fridge, trying to decide between packaged brattail or yesterday's porcarot pie, when he heard linh's voice.

good morning, tam.

tam turned to see linh smiling nervously at him, next to a familiar boy.

tam's stomach dropped.

k-keefe, he stuttered, his face heating up. why are you here?

the blonde boy was making an obvious effort not to look at tam's face. uh, linh invited me.

tam's gaze swerved towards linh, who had the decency not to look ashamed. instead of apologizing, she said: tam, keefe was also in the neverseen.

tam slammed close the refrigerator. he wasn't feeling very hungry anymore.

how could you do this? he snarled at linh, taking a menacing step forward. she held his gaze, & his resolve faded. linh, i-

you clearly need help, she interrupted him. behind her, keefe started backing away, as if to remove himself from the argument, but linh turned to him and shook her head. looking back at tam, she continued: you need help, & you don't want to admit it, & that's okay, tam. but if your pride makes your mind shatter... she gave a shaky shiver, shuddering. that's not worth it, tam. that's not even close to being close to being worth it.

tam shook his head. he knew linh was probably right, & it was messing with his head. so he decided to attack her idea from another angle. so you chose keefe? keefe wasn't forced to join... them. he did it of his own free will. plus, we hate each other. he calls me bangs boy, remember?

keefe finally spoke up. um, yeah, sorry about that. i mean, yeah, your bangs are ridiculous & you're saltier than the ocean—he smirked. it was unnervingly attractive.—but i have been a little bit unnecessarily mean to you.

tam blinked, caught off guard. you-? he blushed, clearing his throat. thanks, i guess, but i don't need your help—

i. still have nightmares. about. it. keefe pulled his hand through his hair, making it even messier. he avoided tam's eyes. when i got back, i felt like the only person in the world who could understand. it. what it's like. if there was someone else who knew even a little...

tam stared at keefe, unable to think of a response.

...i would want to know. them. so i'd feel less alone.

silence.

slowly, linh backed towards the door.

tam laughed: a forced, harsh sound that no one, least of all he, expected. what do you have to feel guilty about? you didn't hurt anyone. all you did was make bad decisions & transmit to the moonlark.

keefe offered the other boy a half-smile. i blew up dame alina's office?

tam snorted. you're keefe effing sencen. i can say without a doubt that you enjoyed it. it was probably one of your most accomplished moments.

keefe laughed. he looked...not comfortable, but not uncomfortable either. somewhere behind the great gulon incident.

tam opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the kitchen door swinging shut with a clang. linh was nowhere to be seen.

silence.

you can go now, tam said awkwardly.

keefe nodded his head. later.

they both knew he'd be back the next day.