Chapter 32

Jade slammed both hands on the living room wall behind Ariel, trapping her there.

Definitely not how I thought the kabedon would go if someone used it on me. Ariel stared at his arms, avoiding his gaze.

"You have to try again, and be serious about it this time," Jade said.

"No! If I was serious about it, I might hurt you."

Jade chuckled. "Don't worry about hurting me; I can handle it."

"That's not the point."

"Imagine I'm Janice or Andy."

"I can't!" I don't want to even chance hurting him.

"What in the world is going on in here?" Conner heard Ariel's raised voice from the entrance, and he froze when he saw them. "I... How dare you?!"

"Conner, wait!"

Jade took a step away from Ariel as she stepped between them. "This is a misunderstanding." Jade bowed.

"Jade didn't do anything to me." Ariel sighed, shaking her head.

"But..." Conner pointed at Jade. "He had you up against the wall. I mean, I suppose that could have romantic overtures, but you saying 'I can't' doesn't give me confidence."

Ariel held up her hand. "He's been trying to teach me ways to run away, some of which involve hitting the person first."

"Which seems to be a problem for her," Jade said.

Conner took a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing, and stepped back. "I'm sorry for overreacting, and yes, she has a problem hitting people, which most of the time is a good thing, but not when you're in danger. Thank you for trying to teach my sister. Should I look into other schools in the area? Or maybe to be relocated again, Jade?"

"You're asking me?"

"As the one closest to Ariel right now, and one who's seen firsthand what goes on at school, you are in a better position to give an opinion than anyone."

"Even Ariel?"

Talking about me like I'm not right here in between them. It doesn't help they're both so much taller than me.

"Yes, because she doesn't like to be a burden and will tough it out until something drastic happens," Conner said.

Might've broken my ribs at one point there, so... he might be right.

"It isn't a good environment, but I don't know that your other schools are. Keeping her at home to study on her own would work to a point, but that type of isolation may take a toll on her mentally in the long run. When one isolates themselves, it becomes harder to reach out in the first place."

"So move? We've been to different schools, and for some reason, an issue always seems to arise." Conner patted Ariel's head when she puffed her cheeks out at him.

"I..." He stopped himself from saying he'd protect her while there. Despite wanting to, would he be around? "Maybe it would be best if I stayed while you're in school, and return to trying to go home later."

"What?" Ariel turned to Jade. "But you have a prince, family, and an army waiting for you."

"Assuming they don't think I'm dead already. I've been gone too long, and I don't think there's a way to track me down here. There's no way my magic will give off a strong enough signal to transcend space."

"Oh, right." Conner held up a black briefcase.

"You didn't bring home classified documents, did you?" Ariel asked.

"Ha ha, no." He nudged her. "Leo dropped off some of his research into using runes for teleporting." He opened the briefcase on the coffee table and pulled out a stack of papers. "I haven't gone through any of it, but Leo's delving deep into this one."

"So you'll probably end up finding a way home soon." Ariel frowned and turned away from them. Why did I say that out loud?! Keep those thoughts inside, Ariel.

Jade sighed. "Possibly." He looked through the papers, nodding along with the analysis.

Ariel's stomach twisted, a lump forming in her throat as she watched the two of them go through the papers Leo sent over. Her heart rate spiked. I have to stay away. She inched back, gripping the straps of her backpack. I can't run outside; that would worry them.

While they were distracted, she headed to her new room.

"Ariel?" Jade turned right away and saw her going upstairs.

"She's probably going to do homework," Conner said, hoping that's all it was.

"Shouldn't I do that, too? I should work with her." He stood, but Conner pulled him back down.

"I think you should leave her alone at the moment."

"But, why? Hasn't she already had enough of that?"

Conner winced. "You're right, but..." He tapped on the papers. "If you're serious about going back, do you think it's a good idea to get closer to her? I understand the need to at school to protect her, but maybe you'd be better off keeping your distance at home."

Jade frowned. "I understand your sentiment, but reject your conclusion. We have already bonded, and I would prefer to spend more time with her, not less. Separation will be hard either way, so I'd like to make more fond memories before leaving, if I can leave."

Conner sighed and shook his head. "I thought we understood each other on this from our talk the other day."

"And I thought I agreed with you, at first. Sometimes, the more you think about things, the more your mind sways another way."

"Is that your way of saying you're torn?"

"Yes. And right now, I don't know that I can focus on runes when my mind is elsewhere."

"She needs time alone, Jade."

"Are you sure? I think she needs people to be there for her, even when she wants to push them away for their own good."

"Geez, are you sure you're a teenager?"

"Yes. And this teenager only has one thing on his mind right now. One person, rather."

Ariel wiped away tears before they could fall and tried to concentrate on her schoolwork. Geez, stop it. It's as bad as trying to fight allergies. She sniffled and took a deep breath, still unable to calm her nerves.

Knock, knock.

She tensed and stared at the door as if she could see through it.

"It's me," Jade said. "Can I come in?"

It's not like I can pretend I'm not here. "Um, I don't think Conner would like that." She tried to hold back anymore tears and took another deep breath before opening the door. "He doesn't want us in each other's bedrooms. And I thought you were busy researching." She kept her head down, avoiding his gaze.

"I was, but I'm worried about you, and the papers will still be there later."

"W-why are you worried about me? I just came up here to work on homework." She motioned back to the bed where the textbooks were laid out.

He took that moment to enter the bedroom and sat on the bed. "But we have all the same classes; shouldn't we do it together?"

"Do you need to bother with all this school stuff now?"

"Why wouldn't I? I'm still busy catching up."

"You might not be here soon, so isn't it just a bother?" Ariel bit her lip and looked away, her nails digging into her arm.

"I don't know that the runes will work the way I want yet, so it's entirely possible I'll still be here after the weekend. It's possible I'll never get home, so it's best to continue my education alongside you. I suppose I should've brought my worksheets with me, though."

"Jade—"

"You're not going to throw me out, are you?"

As if I could. "No."

"Then let's get to work. We can do this together, and I can copy it to my papers later." He adjusted the textbook and papers on the bed and patted the spot beside him. "Please join me; I'm still in need of assistance with schoolwork."

She took a deep breath and sat beside him. "Okay."

"Thank you," Jade whispered and kissed her cheek, and then gently pushed her glasses up to kiss the corner of her eye.

"Oh!" Is that his way of saying he knows I was on the brink of crying? Although the urge had subsided with his appearance.

Conner stood outside the bedroom, leaning against the wall as he listened to them and stared at the plans Leo made. He had a list of the runes he expected to be needed, and a description of how he thought to use it in the place he wanted to show Jade on the weekend.

"Should I be stopping this?" Conner whispered to himself. "It's studying; it's harmless, right?" He sighed and shook his head. "What have I done?"