I went to buy some sort of light source for Jaxton right after lunch. I settled with a hanging light. Jaxton could hang it near his balcony, let it absorb sunlight by day and it'll glow brightly during the night. I went to the cashier to pay, but then something irritated me. Is one enough for him to survive the pitch-black night? This is his entire dorm we're talking about...

"Sorry!" I said to the cashier. "Can you give me a sec? I need to grab one more."

The cashier was looking displeased as I dashed back and forth to try and keep my place in the line but also keep the cashier's patience bar from dropping to zero.

"Here!" I said, too enthusiastic for their liking. With a frown, they scanned the second light and handed them to me.

"Next!"

I dashed out of the store and made a beeline for Jaxton's troop. As I entered, I spotted Yoan immediately; with his blond hair and energetic gait. He seemed excited about something and I called to stop him.

"Yoan! Hey!"

"Cassandra? Hi!" He waited for me to catch up to him, staring at me curiously. He also held something in his hands but I couldn't tell what. "Are you looking for Jaxton?"

"Yeah," My eyes wandered to the two boxes he had in his hands. "Do you know where he is?"

"He's up in his dorm. I'm going to catch him before he rushed off to his class," his eyes landed on my two gifts. "You got him lights too?"

I gaped and realised to my surprise and excitement that Yoan had the same thought. "So you heard about the 'lights-out' thing?"

"Yeah!" Yoan was grinning, rubbing his head as he tucked his two box of lights under his arm. "I never thought Jaxton would tell anyone else about his fear of the dark."

"Oh..." I shrugged, trying to act casual. I changed the subject. "What a good friend you are, Yoan. Everybody needs a Yoan in their life."

"You flatter me," he laughed, and we jogged up the stairs. It was the first time I ever stood in front of Jaxton's door. Before we even knocked, Jaxton pulled his door open, dressed fully in sports gear and carrying his gym bag. He stopped short of his action and stared at us with rounded eyes, his glance dancing between the two of us.

"I know. A rare combo, us two," Yoan grinned and I did too. We both raised our box of lights to show him. "You scaredy cat, we got you some holy light to bless and protect you."

Jaxton's surprised look turned into a wide grin, "Thanks."

"Your welcome, bro," Yoan strode inside while I followed with smaller steps, giving Jaxton a cheeky grin. He replied with a raise of his brow and another slanted smirk back.

"Your Mrs. had the same idea."

"My what?"

"I am not his Mrs.," I said, unfazed. I began unpacking the boxes.

"You're not?" Yoan threw a questionable look at Jaxton and Jaxton shrugged, hands in his pocket with a lazy smile. I grabbed a chair and began putting on the lights, and I could hear the two boys muttering to each other.

"What? Is she not your Mrs.? What does that mean?"

"We're not dating. That's what it means."

"Wow, if you leave someone like that around someone's gonna snatch her up."

"I can hear you two, you know?" I spared a glance over my shoulder, silencing them. At the corner of my eyes, I saw Jaxton's fleeting smile and his playful jab at his best friend's rib.

I hung up my two lights, offered to do Yoan's as well, while Jaxton watched the whole spectacle with a look. A genuine, soft look in his emerald eyes, as though he was a boy enjoying the sunlight on a cool breeze, content with the moment being.

I hopped down, ignored the previous awkward conversation and plastered a grin on my face, proud of my achievements.

"That should help you survive."

"Yo, thanks for doing mine up," Yoan rubbed the back of his head. "Do you have class after?"

"Oh, yeah, it's close by," I checked my watch. "I'll be going, then."

"Jaxton's going the same way," Yoan quickly said, taking a step out to partially block my path. His eyes sparkled with energy and enthusiasm. "You two can walk together."

Jaxton was glaring at his friend while trying his best to not look too horrified. The interaction was strange but I raised a brow and questionably looked at Jaxton. "Do you have class the same way?"

"Yes," Jaxton said quickly, gave a pointed look at Yoan before his emerald eyes were back on mine. "Let's go."

He opened the door, waiting for me to step out before he did. Jaxton flit a glance inside and said in a rough tone, "Get out."

"Fine, fine," Yoan raised his hands in surrender and hopped out, then trotted downstairs with a lightness in his step. "See ya both later!"

I laughed at Yoan's happy face as Jaxton chuckled with disbelief. As we walked to the direction of the cave's entrance, I couldn't help but burst in laughter.

"What?" He said, unable to repress his own laugh.

"Yoan didn't even ask where I was going," when I left the sentence at that, I watched with satisfying amusement as Jaxton's horrified look grew with each step. "Don't look so scared, Jaxton, it's fine, your friend tries hard to be your wingman."

Jaxton glanced to the side, but I could see he was smiling. And it warmed my heart.



***



Jaxton wasn't rejecting people's hints here and there. That I was his girlfriend or Mrs. Could that mean something?

At first, Vel had questioned our relationship status, Jaxton had joked around with it. I thought of it as a joke as well, but things began to change... at least, my feelings began to change. Whenever I was around him, I had to resist the urge to touch him. But it didn't stop me from wanting to see him laugh and smile. And it didn't stop me from wanting to hear his voice, see his every reaction to every small little thing in life.

Is this what love feels like?

Since I was a little girl, I had been reading books, watching movies and TV shows, but I didn't really understand what love felt like. Love, in some interpretation, felt like fireworks. Passionate, fiery, exploding in different colours. But they'd end, as fireworks and excitements do. That was probably why I never enjoyed playing with fireworks even as a little girl.

Love, in other interpretations, was a marathon. With hills and slopes, trips and falls. A couple sticking by each other in happy and tough times. But how was that supposed to feel like? Was it both passionate but... lovely?

I was starting to understand what love felt like now. It was loving someone, every single bit of them. But at the same time, it was taking responsibility. Love was not only about a feeling but a responsibility.

As for me, I realised all I had were feelings but... could I take the responsibility? Would I be able to be with Jaxton through hard times? Would I understand him when he decides, one day, to tell me everything about his search for Robin? Would he accept me as someone who held the Blade of Iridescent? He might not mind now, as friends. Friends still had a certain distance. A sphere that they retreated to from time to time. But would he mind his girlfriend to be someone like me? Or would he only want me just for the thrill of the moment?

I walked into Practical, holding onto Reflecta in my grip. I took a seat on a random bench and waited for the teacher as these thoughts swirled inside my mind. I didn't let them plague me for long, I had to focus in class.

"We'll be joined with another class today," Professor Gill said and the class eyed us with wary glances. I spotted Kristen immediately, sitting at the edge of the bench, her mind elsewhere.

"I've already paired you all up," Professor Gill gave a swipe of her hand and the notification screens popped in front of our faces.

Kristen - Cassandra

I grinned widely. When Professor Gill allowed us to leave the gym and move outside, I went to search for Kristen immediately. We were assigned to areas, protected by a screen in case our powers went flying all over the place and hit the buildings. I watched as two girls entered their bubble, their laughter cut off by the screen as soon as they entered inside.

I looked down at the notification board and pursed my lips as I tried to find my right bubble.

Kristen's probably looking for me too! Now we are two lost kids.

I jogged past a bubble and halted. Kristen was tying her hair, walking into the bubble. I couldn't help my grin and hopped into the bubble immediately.

"Kristen!" I said. "It's so good to see you! I'm so glad we're partners!"

Kristen gave a faint smile, "Hey, Cassie."

My smile began to slip off my face and I did my best to keep it there. There was suddenly an invisible distance between us and I felt it just grow an inch apart. Professor Gill was giving instructions and I simply shuffled to my starting point, feeling both blank and confused.

Did something happen?

"Be ready!"

Kristen Anderson invites you to a duel.

Accept.

We were told to leave our weapons to the opposite side and as the countdown began to tick, I tried to read Kristen's expression. There was a frown on her face, her brows slanting with the corner of her eyes; a weariness but also a defensiveness in her stance.

I widened my own fighting stance and had my hands out in front of me.

Zer-

The announcer hadn't finished but Kristen was already two steps away from her starting point and charging towards me. I couldn't let her get her weapon so fast. I wasn't even out from my starting point yet!

I side-stepped and caught her outstretched wrist, yanking her back. She leapt, her legs snapped together as her feet aimed for my hip. I took a light hop back, and, using both hands to grab her wrist, I threw her back to the direction of her starting point.

She skid, drew her arms in the air as a spark of green light emitted a sage hue. She held it in her palms while I also lit a blue icy light in mine.

She charged again, her green light skimming past my cheeks and almost burning me. I released my ice powers, and zapped her legs frozen, forcing her back to the ground mid-leap. She moved her hand toward my face but I diverted it away, my snowflakes twirled around my fingers, almost like ballerinas in a dream. It struck her shoulder, turning it rigid. She stumbled, drew back cautiously as a weighty pain limited her movements.

Her jaw clenched, and her eyes straightened. There was something wrong but I didn't know what. She pointed at her frozen shoulder with two closed fingers, a green light melting it into a wet patch. Her fingers held the green light, it was too bright for my liking.

Kristen fought aggressively. I've never fought her before, but each grip she held on me seemed a bit too tight, and each look she gave me were intense and full of an emotion I couldn't decipher properly. Her blue eyes were no longer gentle and each strike was one that longed to leave a mark.

I was breathless when we found ourselves untangled. Before she could recover, I leapt for Reflecta, I swung the blade without thinking, my only goal being to strike first. Kristen already had the whip in her hands. She turned her body fully, holding her whip-sword in one hand.

The whip created a spiral, extending in length. I turned and circled my wrist, manoeuvring Reflecta to deflect the whip's sharp edge. It created a spark whenever the two weapons made contact. When the whip changed its pattern of attack. I had to throw myself on the ground as the whip drew itself overhead, Kristen allowed it to drop and I rolled to the side as the whip tore away some of the dirt from the ground.

The whip had unpredictable, slippery flexibility, almost like a snake. As I struck it from the side, the other parts would move and make its attack.

I flipped my body, making through the gaps of the spirals, one side of the whip blade skimmed over the side of my waist, cutting open parts of my vest and leaving a mark on the leather belt. But I had got through the twists and turns by leaping and hopping. Reflecta's blade shimmered in the light, and I cut through the air in a wisp. Kristen's blue eyes widened, then narrowed when my blade shone different angles of sunlight into her eyes. She turned her head to the side, tried to move.

Reflecta's blade was inches away from her neck and that would mark the end of the duel, but Kristen wasn't done. Her blue eyes flamed. Sensing that I have paused, she dodged to the side, reorganised her whip and struck again.

"Kristen-" My protest was in vain. I flipped, the tip of my boots pointed high, my legs in vertical as I dodged her whip. I landed lightly, Reflecta aimed with a flick of my wrist.

Kristen ran toward me, her whip was almost intuitive, shaped in complex angles and twirls in the air. Reflecta struck with precision, my arm muscles burning as I increased my speed of defence.

Kristen's whip circled and snapped as it closed around Reflecta's blade, drawing it tight. She strapped the end of her blade around her shoulder, held her other grip on a part of the whip, its blade already retracted so it did no harm to its Master, and heaved.

The pressure on my blade grew and I felt my feet slipping in Kristen's direction, the friction on my boots no longer making much use. Kristen's whip glowed in a green hue, a whistle of smoke appearing between the stretched gaps. Reflecta shook in my hand but I had no furrow in my brows nor a frown on my face.

I forced Reflecta to pivot and I heard Kristen's whip give an almost inaudible crack. I drew my elbow back, pulling Reflecta and the tangled whips with me. I turned my wrist and Reflecta pivoted further. Kristen's whip gave way to Reflecta's tailored, sharp edge.

I didn't want to hurt Kristen. I didn't want to hurt her weapon either. Except, Reflecta did more than I realised. The whip began to dismantle, pieces of her ribbon sword brushed past my mirror-like blade, unable to resist the force of gravity. They shattered, fell to the floor with heavy thumps.

I watched with my mouth open, unable to comprehend what I had done. Kristen, however, already registered the situation and her gaze set on mine in disbelief and fury. And, if I didn't see it wrong, her blue eyes had watered.

"Kristen, I-"

Professor Gill rushed to us immediately, and I sensed a few more gazes on our bubble as students began to notice Professor Gill's presence. I could make out Professor Gill saying 'what happened' before she entered the bubble.

"My sword... I..." I stumbled on my words helplessly. I looked at Kristen, my eyes pleading for her to forgive me, but I knew she wouldn't. Since the beginning of the fight, something was wrong. In every hit and strike, she seemed to... resent me.

"It doesn't matter," Kristen forced a smile on her face as she turned to look at Professor Gill, her tears already swallowed back into her socket. "I'll give the weapon to someone to look at."

She went on her knees and began picking up the bits and pieces, one even pricked her finger, but Kristen remained impassive. She sucked her bleeding finger and continued.

I bent down too, my hand already reaching for the things on the floor when she stopped me, an icy edge to her voice. "It's fine."

It was not fine.

Professor Gill nodded at me and I took a few steps back to give Kristen space.

"Come and see me after, Kristen," Professor Gill was gentle. She placed her palm on Kristen's shoulder, an even gentler touch, as though afraid Kristen would pounce. Kristen forced another smile on her face and gave one grim nod.

As Professor Gill exited the bubble, I gingerly crouched to level myself with Kristen. She picked up everything slowly, one by one, laying it on her ribbon belt that was once tied around her waist.

"Kristen, are you alright?" I started cautiously. "Did something happen?"

She didn't reply at first, then she muttered, "Nothing's wrong, Cassandra."

She's using my full name...

I saw her clench her jaw, picking up the last few pieces before she stood up, straightened with her bag of broken blades in her hands. Her expression was cold.

"Something must've happened," I pushed, a tone edged with a subtle desperateness. "You can tell me. Maybe I can help-"

"I don't need your help," she snapped, her anger was washed over with a saddened look. "I just... I don't want to see you right now."

I closed my fist, clenched onto my back teeth just so I wouldn't say anything to make the situation worse. Kristen turned her head from me and began walking away.

"A-Are you mad at me?"

God, Cassie, why! But I knew why. I was always afraid I was too annoying. I was always afraid I would make people mad. It seemed that... I had made Kristen mad and I needed to know why. Because maybe... maybe I could fix it, maybe-

"Yes."

I stiffened.

"Wh-did I do anything wrong? I'm sorry if I did but-"

With her back facing me, she said, "You're wrong for being around him so much."

My forehead grew cold. "What?"

"I asked Marty to the ball," Kristen lifted her head and spared a glance at the other bubbles. But everyone else had begun their duel again once they saw Professor Gill take care of the situation. No one was paying attention to the tension brewing in this one. "I know he likes you."

My body gave a start and all I could do was utter another weak "what?"

"Don't act stupid," she turned suddenly, her eyes narrowed as she shot her pointed words at me. "You knew all along, didn't you? You just acted like you really wished me well."

"That is not true!" I finally spoke, loud and clear. It stopped her momentarily but she didn't give me the chance to continue.

"Maybe you even enjoyed it. Maybe you even showed me some pity. I'm just a girl, loving a guy who'll never love her back," she shielded her face away from me. "It doesn't matter. Like I said, I don't want to see you right now. I'm sick of hearing your overly enthusiastic voice."

With that said, she stepped out of the bubble without looking at me again. While I stood there, feeling something shatter inside me.



***

A/N

Ouch?

L