Chapter 18: Bianca - Plot - Change

Bianca
Plot

Bryce and Damen never returned to the gymnasium, and Miles ended up taking me home later that afternoon. He claimed he needed a break in order to rediscover his muse, but I had a feeling it might have more to do with the tentative nature of what might happen once Julian—or even Titus—heard about what happened.

But only Julian and Finn were home when we arrived. At first, they barely glanced up from their studies.

“Hello, Darling.” Julian held one hand up into the air, while his other was busy tracing a line in his book. “Just give me one moment and I’ll…” His words trailed off, as his quick look turned into a lingering stare.

I was still holding an ice pack to my cheek, one that Miles had stolen from the locker room. Julian’s attention was riveted to the spot.

The shock wore off, and the necromancer jumped to his feet which caused Finn to drop his homework as well.

“What happened?” Julian had crossed the room within a second, pulling back my hand from my face. “It looks like someone punched you!”

Finn stood as well, expression ashen as he hovered, a living feature in the background. But I couldn’t be bothered by him. I was more concerned about Julian’s reaction.

Miles and I were really going to have to stop him from murdering Damen. Miles thought it might be a possibility and had stated such on the way home.

“That’s because someone did.” I winced as he lightly touched my swollen skin. My jaw tingled where his fingers lingered over me, and a soothing coolness began to radiate from the place where his fingers connected. “Issnot so bad,” I mumbled. Whatever he was doing caused my mouth to feel full of cotton.

“Not so bad?” Julian was furious behind his calm mask. “This has an onmyoji’s touch to it. Who?”

“Now, Julian.” Miles stepped closer to me, voice soothing. “There’s no need to make this worse than it is, he feels horrible. Did you know that Bianca can cast enchantments now? It was completely unexpected, and we both lost control for a little bit. Bryce already went to deal with it.”

“Damen.” A wave of deadly intent radiated from the man as he shifted toward the door. “He hit you.”

“Actually,” I mumbled, my mouth still feeling strange. “He didn’t really see me. He was trying to hit Miles. I jumped in front of him.”

“It’s true.” Miles nodded. “He thought he could take me. It was enjoyable until then.”

“You two were fighting?” Julian asked the witch, then he looked at me accusingly. “And why?” he asked. “Why would you jump in the middle of a fight between two men?”

I wanted to point out that they had been acting more like teenagers instead of men at that moment, but Miles still had the strangest look of excitement on his face, and I didn’t want to burst his bubble.

“It’s what she does.” Finn had returned to his seat, seemingly nonchalant to the casual observer besides the nervous way his leg bounced. I knew him well enough to know he was upset too, but he was trying to hide it. Julian and Miles both glanced at him, and he continued, “Bianca always had this inexplicable need to jump into my fights.”

“Why are you fighting people?” Miles asked.

Finn didn’t answer his question but continued on about me. “It’s like she’ll see it happening, and somehow believes she’s going to help.”

Julian was frowning at him. “When—”

“There were a few memorable occasions, simply off the top of my head.” Finn leaned back as he crossed his leg over his knee. He appeared to be deep in thought. “A few on the school roof, another during swimming lessons—that time she almost drowned, then another when she ignored me and tried to befriend someone who held less than pleasant intentions toward her.”

“Wait,” Miles seemed confused. “Who started the fight? You or—”

“When I caught it happening, I kicked the shit out of them, but I was never their target. They’re not that stupid.” Finn was practically lounging in his chair, ignoring my glare as he continued gossiping with the others. “They were trying to hurt her. And every time we fought, she refused to stay out of it. She’s ended up with more than a few bruises.”

Julian and Miles levelled their disapproving gazes on me, and I could feel their questions.

“Why—” Julian began, but I cut him off, glaring at Finn.

“How could you tell them that?” I wanted to scream at him, but even though my jaw felt marginally better, I was still reeling from everything that had happened. “I was trying to make sure you were okay!”

“I didn’t ask for your help.” Finn shrugged. “I don’t want you to help. It causes extra problems where there are none. It’s my responsibility to protect you. If telling the others and having them intervene is one way to get it through your head that you don’t have to be everyone’s savior, then so be it.”

Miles and Julian were staring at Finn, eyes wide and surprise thick in the air.

I hated him! So much that even though something in his words pulled at me, something familiar that someone else said recently, I couldn’t quite place it at the moment.

All I could recall was those words that first tore at my heart. What had solidified the breaking of my trust.

He’d said it to Julian the day he’d somehow harmed me with his abilities, then Julian had sent him scampering away.

‘She’s my problem.’

And that was how he’d always seen me.

Not a friend, but an obligation.

“I hate you!” I snatched the ice pack from Julian’s hands, and Finn blurred in my vision. The only indication that he was affected by my words was the way his leg suddenly stopped moving. But he didn’t even look at me, his gaze was stubbornly set to the wall.

And with that I fled from the room, ignoring both Julian and Miles’s attempts to call me back.

* * *

The creak of the window opening disturbed my almost silent sniffles. I didn’t even have to look to know who it was. No one else would have dared bother me out here. They pretended not to notice the way I crawled onto the roof to be alone, and I never discussed it with them, in turn.

There was only one individual—besides Damen—who’d risk interrupting my private time.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him, not turning my attention from the dusky skyline.

The sky was streaked with watercolors of red, orange, and purple, and the white, round, moon was already high in the sky. There were no clouds, and the temperature was already dropping quickly. It was only due to the crocheted blanket I’d grabbed from the foot of my bed that I wasn’t freezing.

“I need to talk to you. Can I sit down?” Then Finn sat, anyway, without waiting for a response. “Please?” he asked, like it mattered now after he’d already made himself comfortable.

I sighed, my usual ire missing at his presence. I was growing tired of this, and it was becoming more difficult to muster the effort to care.

Besides, this was the umpteenth time he’d come to me with this line and, unless I finally gave in, it would probably not be the last. I might as well just get it over with.

I guess persistence really did pay off.

“What do you want?”

“I know you hate me, but you can’t avoid me forever. I’m still an officer. It’ll just be for a…” he started, then paused, sucking in a breath. His shoulders tightened, and he touched the bridge of his glasses. “What?”

“You’ve been trying to talk to me for ages,” I clarified. “I’m ready to listen.”

Finn blinked and lowered his hand back to his side, pressing his palm flat against the roof. “Oh.” He looked away and tapped his finger against the rough tiles. “Well…”

His words trailed off and his voice was rougher when he spoke next, “Give me a moment.”

I stared at him in annoyance.

Give him a moment? How many more moments did he need? He’d been the one harping about this for weeks!

“Don’t look at me like that!” Finn’s shoulders tensed and his mouth dipped; still, he was unable to look me in the eyes. “I was expecting you to ignore this talk for another six months at least.”

Really, though?

“You can see the future,” I pointed out. “You had to know this would happen at some point.”

“It doesn’t work like that.” Finn was frowning at his feet. “Especially not with you.”

I lifted my temples from my knees, my interest piqued. “What do you mean?”

He clenched his jaw, voice tight. “I knew you’d hate me, but that was about it.”

“You… knew I’d hate you?” Something about his words caused a pang to shoot through me. He pretended to be my friend though. There was some measure of trust there at least, so that didn’t make any sense.

How could you get close to someone if you knew your relationship was doomed to disaster?

“Yes,” he replied, lips thinning as the corner of his eyes crinkled.

“But you did it anyway?”

“I didn’t know what else to do.” Finn shrugged, his words quickening. “I never had any friends before, and I had no idea how to help you otherwise.” His shoulders slumped as his head fell forward. A lock of his light blonde hair fell over his eyes. “I’m sorry I did this the wrong way. I should have refused to lie. I never wanted to hurt you.”

The gentle breeze passed over us, and my breath caught as his apology rang through my head.

Ten years—and this was the first time I’d ever heard him utter those words.

‘I’m sorry.’

My hands shook as I squeezed my fingers into my blanket. “Last time we had this discussion, you refused to acknowledge you were wrong.”

And that’s what had hurt the most.

“What changed?” I asked.

Finn’s reply was instantaneous. “Damen.”

I blinked at him. I wasn’t sure how Damen had the ability to make anything better. “How?”

“He’s been treating you like you’re an idiot.” Finn’s tense expression morphed into a glower, and there was an edge to his voice that wasn’t there before. “Seeing it makes me feel like I’m looking into the past. I get what he’s trying to do, but he’s beginning to portray the worst traits of our kind. I didn’t realize I’d been doing the same thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jealousy,” Finn replied with a shrug. “Aggression, impulsive behavior, not being completely honest. When a Fire personality becomes obsessed, we’ll ignore the details in order to focus on the long-term goals. It was my job to keep you safe. That was all that was important, even if it meant you’d hate me. It took being an outsider to see it. You were more than happy to listen to me, to trust everything I told you, and I took advantage of that. I didn’t question it because it meant that my job was easier. I’ve been an asshole.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. Was this what it took for him to see the light? “You have been.”

“You could at least deny it a little,” he muttered, pushing his fists into his thighs.

“It’s okay.” Despite the awkward situation, I couldn’t help but to elbow him on the side. It wasn’t until after that I realized I hadn’t initiated contact between us in a very long time. The air grew heavy as Finn tensed, and the atmosphere begged to be lightened. I leaned in, whispering, “I can be one too.”

“Oh?” He raised his eyebrow, finally turning to me. His voice was softer now as he responded. “I already knew that. You’re a little bit terrifying sometimes.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He could at least look surprised at my admission.

“I guess that’s why we’re best friends.” Finn’s mouth curled up ever so slightly and my heart skipped a beat. “We’re two peas in a pod.”

Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe; and this time it had nothing to do with Damen’s outburst. Finn’s tone had been slight—joking—but the stressed line of his shoulders gave away his nervous tension.

Because the fact of the matter was also that in the entire duration of our relationship, he’d never once called me his best friend too.

And how presumptuous was this? I wasn’t his friend anymore. Wasn’t I still angry at him?

But for what—and why? It really didn’t matter anymore. Not in the grand scheme of things.

And he’d apologized and owned up to his mistakes. How could we move past this if I didn’t give him another chance?

That was what a leader did—we didn’t allow conflicts to linger.

“Yeah…” My attention moved back to the sky, and I pressed my cheek against my knees once more. “I guess we are.”

“Good.” He let out an audible sigh and as the tension left his body. Then he shifted slightly, reaching beside him as he pulled a bag onto his legs. “I guess I can give you this now then.”

A growing sense of familiarity prickled at my senses, and my chest grew warm. “Give…” I started, but my question was already answered as he placed the small, paper-wrapped cake into my lap.

“I had to fight Miles for the kitchen,” Finn explained, pulling out a thermos. Instantly, I knew what it was: hot chocolate. “But he finally left me alone. Eat,” he said, twisting the lid off the container.

I gently held the neatly wrapped treat. “Honey cake.”

“Well, yeah…” Finn sounded slightly unsure, and my attention moved to him. He was watching me with caution now—and suspicion. “Do you not like it anymore?”

Why was my vision blurring? This was no time to cry. I wiped the wrist of my sleeve over my eyes. “It’s my favorite.”

“I know.” His brows furrowed as his mouth twisted in confusion. “That’s why I made it.”

He didn’t watch me eat, which I was thankful for, and the two of us sat in silence as I nibbled on the cake and we watched the sunset into the horizon.