Depend On Me [18+]

Socializing 101

Chapter 36

**EROS**

"I say we wear our pack's warrior paint," Kaiden said, typing furiously on his laptop. "since our pack is what brought us together."

Curious, I glance at the screen and was surprised to see that he was trying to hack into the internship page.

He's good at sports, does well academically, has a social life, and has a kick-ass girlfriend. On top of that, he knows how to hack. 

Carly laughs unamused. "What are we? Kids? I'm not walking out there looking like a clown. I vote for something else."

"Something else, like what?" Jade asks, leaning against the wall.  "We need something that connects us as a group."

We were in Mora's room, preparing to go down for the dinner ceremony. My bracelet flashes illuminating the announcement. 

Assignment 1: What unifies your group?

"I don't see what's wrong with Kaiden's suggestion. Anything that represents us as a whole connects us together, whether it's our warrior's paint, a color, or a symbol. As long as we know that it belongs to us, it can represent us." Mora shrugs, dipping her feet in the mini pool under the waterfall in her room. 

I bite my lips and play with my bracelet. "Can it be that easy? We're talking about the Alpha Internship here."

"Exactly. Everyone is probably thinking about what you're thinking right now, leading them to overthink." Raol yawns, looking over Kaiden's shoulder. "You're taking too long. Move over."

"Whatever. I'm still not wearing paint." Carly tucks her hair behind her ears and glares at Kaiden and Raol. "Do you really need to hack into the program, though? Your immaturity might affect the whole group."

Kaiden rolls his eyes and sigh. "It's not that dangerous. We're just setting up a firewall to make sure that nobody can hack or listen in on us."

Carly lifts up her hands demonstrating her bracelet. "I'm sorry to inform you that it's already been done. Now, let's stop wasting our time. I'm hungry. Mission: Find something that connects us as a group. Any ideas?"

"May I?" I ask Mora. She raises both eyebrows, confused. "As Carly said, our bracelet is the only thing that we can't hack into, but it doesn't mean that others cannot use magic to spy on us."

"Go ahead." 

I take a deep breath and feel the familiar flow of magic racing through my veins. At that moment, I felt as if I was on top of the world. No one and nothing could stop me.

"Eros? Are you alright?" A distorted voice asks. I blink and Jade's face comes into view. He taps the side of the jaw, catching my attention. Mora smirks and I blush. 

"Yeah." I breathe out. "I'm fine." 

I quickly finish up the spell and mask the room, but, still, my fingers tingle as whisps of magic dance around the air. 

"What connects us five as a group in comparison to the other students?" Kaiden asks. He glances at his phone and frowns. "We have an hour before dinner."

"Nothing makes us stand out from the rest. Even though everyone thinks they're special, we're all students who are determined to succeed. We're all struggling to find ourselves and be free." I comment settling down next to Jade. 

Silence greets my comment and I look up to find the whole crew staring at me. 

"Am I wrong?" I smile and Mora furrows her brows.