The Fragile the Broken and the Brave

40. Boom Boom

8.20.20

I was surprised that Varian had warmed up to me so quickly, but it made me glad. I don't think I could have handled it if he were to push me away; my heart would stop, and I would slowly drift away into the wind. When we walked into a room, I could see a stone slab with gross looking, low in quantity food placed gently on the surface. My chest cried out for my poor soulmate, and I could only keep myself calm by promising in my mind to spoil him once I made him mine. I would show him that the only thing in life wasn't a dank hole only eating mystery meat stew and stale bread.

"I know it isn't much, but it's all that I can give you."

"No, it's perfect." I beamed with my teeth showing, and his little body became less tense. I took my share of the meal before I dug in, and I kept my real opinions suppressed beneath a thick layer of my ability to stomach horrible food. Trust me, my papa can burn the hell out of almost anything. He managed to burn pasta one time, and I had to crunch my way through it while praising the abominable meal. At least their food tastes a bit better than how it looks and smells.

"What do you think?" Varian's blue-gray eyes trailed my face while he spoke, and I swallowed the bit of soup in my mouth with a lot of difficulty.

"It was great!" I allowed my facial features to reflect the phrase so that it appeared to be an earnest statement, and I saw the satisfaction glistening like the sun on his features. It gave me a chance to fully observe his face, and my knees would have grown weak if I had been standing. His looks probably wouldn't be too spectacular to anyone else, but just a glance at my soulmate drove me up the wall. He had large, stunning eyes with long eyelashes rimming the edges, and his right cheekbone was slightly higher than the left; adorably so. His pink colored lips were twisted up into a bright smile, and I could see his slightly larger than average ears poking out through his thin brunette hair. His jawline was a bit duller than some I've seen, yet it fit his babyish features pretty well. His nose was also large, like his ears, but it fit into his face very well. My soulmate, if I was speaking objectively, wasn't the most beautiful boy, but he was absolutely perfect in my eyes. Everything about him made me feel so much love deep in my chest; I don't think it's possible to hate your own soulmate's appearances.

"I'm so glad that you liked it!" Varian stood up slowly, and I jumped and turned when Orion began to make a quiet clicking sound. His forest green eyes were gazing listlessly at the stone slab the two boys consider a table, and his facial expression was distant. At first I thought that I was imagining the sound until he made it again, and I felt Varian touch my shoulder softly.

"Is he okay?"

"Who, Orion? Yeah, he does that all the time."

"Why?"

"That's a topic for another time. You should get back to your family. Feel free to come and visit us whenever you want to. I can't remember if I ever asked you your name, but I'm going to ask again anyways."

"Oh... I'm Connor, but all of my friends usually call me Con or Conny."

"Well then, Conny, I'll see you around." Varian pushed me up to the top of the cave before walking back down, and it took me a hot second to get over the way he had said my name. It never hit that different when Benji would say it. Never mind that, it's time to go back to the clearing before my dad hits me upside the head with a spade.

***

Benji's POV

I laid on the mattress while staring at the ceiling and trying to will away my magic, but nothing was working. Go figure. The sizzling in my chest was growing to uncomfortable levels, and I knew that I couldn't hold it in for much longer. I was going to explode, and there's nothing anyone could do about it. I sighed loudly before everything I was containing ripped loose, and I could hear the rumble of the school shaking above me. Any of the small lights that flooded into the room from the side of the school blinked out, and I heard a loud booming noise. I think I just exploded the school's circuits. My magic tore from my body in constant pulses, and I began to shake from the intensity. My lungs were difficult to fill up for a while, but they corrected themselves once my blast died down. I sank down onto the bed in exhaustion once I was released from the horrifying grips of my magic, and I heard loud footsteps running down the stairs. Oh my, this will be so good.

"Benjamin Evans," Mr. Sequiz shouted from the door, and I looked at him with my exhaused eyes. All of my limbs felt heavy, and I could barely think through the lack of energy I was going through.

"That's my name." The metal barrier opened with Sequiz's magic, and he walked right in. His pants were soaked right around the top, and I snickered to myself knowing that I made the man piss his trousers.

"Now is not the time to play games. What did you just do?"

"My magic go boom boom."

"No beginner's magic just does that."

"We've been trying to tell you from the start, Sequiz. The kid isn't an ordinary beginner. He's special, and I choose to believe that it's for a reason." The lady that had been with me when I was first trying out my powers was with him, and I could see her irises were brightened. She was thrilled by whatever I did.

"Please, like the kid of someone like Jack could ever go anywhere in life."

"Let's not hate on the kid because of his parents now."

"Bea, I've never seen a magic related power outage at Riverside in my whole lifetime. The school is literally build to be protected against the highest known magic levels; that of a master. If you're suggesting that this kid has more power than your average warlock master than we're going to have a very serious issue. The foundation is designed to hold in all of the magic and disperse it evenly throughout the grounds."

"Well, I mean no master has ever specialized in electricy before. It's possible that..."

"Even then he would have had to have been trained from a young age before he could do anything important."

"Can it Sequiz. The kid is special."

I looked between the two of them slowly before I felt my eyes slowly begin to drift closed, and my body slid between awake and dreaming. I didn't get any more useful information, but I knew that they were finally going to let me out. At least I get breakfast tomorrow.