11 Night Over

Milo, Jade, and Emrys each sat on a tall stool around the kitchen counter.

Milo had lent Emrys a set of his clothes so he could change out of his messed-up uniform, which was currently sitting in the bathroom sink. He sat there awkwardly, pulled at the hem of the colorful t-shirt he borrowed.

Jade had her workbooks and notebooks sprawled out in front of her on the table and a pen in hand, but she was not in the slightest paying any attention to her schoolwork. "What happened exactly?" she asked uncertainly.

She didn't mean to pry, but she couldn't hold it in anymore.

Milo propped his elbows on the countertop and rested his chin on the back of his hand. "You don't mind sharing, right?"

Emrys darted his eyes between them, still confused.

So this girl's name is Jade and she's a junior at my school? How did she even get involved in the first place? he wondered. And this pink-haired guy with the glasses is Gray's next-door neighbor...who also happens to be Mr. Kinoshi's former student?

Milo blinked at him. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Huh? Uh, no," Emrys said quickly. "I was just...thinking."

The two stared at him.

"So are you going to tell us?" Jade said, her eyes twinkling with suspense.

He sighed. "Look, the whole thing is really simple. Gray came to get me out of school early, took me to an old scrapyard, tried to kill me- I mean, he didn't try to kill me- I mean...never mind," he grumbled.

Milo gave a nervous laugh as Emrys lowered his eyes to his hands. He could still feel his power flowing in his veins, though it wasn't as distinct as before.

What did Gray do? Everything feels...different.

He flexed and unflexed his fingers, then turned his palms up so they were facing him. Slowly, he released just a bit of his power and watched a light, blue crystal form in between his hands.

"Huh," he mumbled. He juggled it back and forth in the air underneath the countertop, away from Milo and Jade's view. Those two seemed to get along well pretty quickly, he noticed.

It was already quite late, and the sky was slowly turning from pink to purple.

"You two should go home," Milo said. "Where do you live? I can drive you."

Jade rubbed her arm sheepishly. "A- actually I was going to ask if I can stay...I- I live with my aunt, and she works night shifts. I don't feel comfortable being home alone in my neighborhood," she admitted, averting her eyes.

Milo nodded in understanding, though his expression was unsure. "I...I suppose you can stay here?" he suggested, glancing around Gray's mostly empty apartment. "My place next door doesn't have room, I can bring over a sleeping bag if you wish."

He glanced over at Emrys, who was still looking down at his hands. "What about you?"

Emrys looked up and straightened, placing his hands back on the table in a flash. "I...," he started. His eyes darted over to the closed door to Gray's room, which stood eerily still.

They placed Gray on his bed to rest earlier, and they had no idea of when he would wake up. He couldn't just leave him like that, could he?

Milo smiled reassuringly. "If you're worried about Gray, I'll still be here to check on him. So is Jade, since she wants to stay."

He hesitated.

He already had a free day tomorrow and didn't have to go to school, there was no harm in staying for a night. It's not like there was anything good waiting for him at his home either.

"I...think I'll stay, too," he mumbled.

There was a slight pause before a light chuckle came from Milo's way. He slid out of his seat and headed for the door. "Then I'll go get some sleeping bags and pillows. I just hope that Gray wouldn't mind you staying for the night."

He left the two alone at the counter, and Emrys turned to see Jade staring at him, a question in her eyes. "Yeah?" he asked.

Jade stared down at her workbooks and assignments, then back up at Emrys, hinting.

Emrys huffed and leaned forward, realizing what she wanted. "Okay, I'll help you with your homework," he sighed. He ran his hands through his hair in exasperation as he saw her many complex scribbles and notes on her papers.

Jade grinned sheepishly and giggled, her cheeks turning pink. "Hehe, thanks, Prez," she said shyly.

_______________

Jade rolled onto her side in the sleeping bag, hugging the pillow tightly.

It was probably past midnight now, but she was still wide awake. So much had happened in just one afternoon and it was hard to process everything in her mind.

Emrys was in his sleeping bag across the room, sleeping soundly. She couldn't describe the feeling of when she first saw him in the afternoon, half-dead. How could Mr. Gray have done that? He was so worried and so anxious to save him, he couldn't have done that to him...

Maybe it was an accident.

Jade thought back to when Emrys suddenly summoned an ice arrow out of nowhere and pointed it had Mr. Gray's neck. She'd never seen a mage use their powers before, other than on national television.

And yet, here she was, staying in an apartment with not one, but two mages.

Manning and the others would kill her if they found if she was staying over with so many boys. Moreover, she was staying with Manning's current crush...and her own, secret crush. But then again, she didn't want to stay alone at her aunt's home in that horrid neighborhood.

Who knew Emrys was actually such a nice person? He even helped her with her assignments with no complaint...

She let out a silent scream and buried her face into the pillow, taking in its sweet and tangy smell of coffee. It smelled nice...and somehow familiar.

It smelled like...Milo?

Jade froze, her eyes flying open.

What the heck?! What I am thinking? she screamed inside her head. The person I like is Emrys! Why-?

Then, Milo's face appeared in her mind, smiling brightly. Everything about him was dazzling; his soft pink hair, his smooth skin, his thin, round glasses that shone when he was smiling...hell, even the little mole below the corner of his eye seemed perfect.

Jade felt her cheeks burn as she hit her head against the pillow. It was impossible not to like him, for he was so nice and caring...

A thud coming from the other room snapped her out of her thoughts.

Another one sounded, and she sat up and brushed her hair out of her face, the sound sending chills down her spine.

Jade let go of the pillow and slipped out of the sleeping bag with a soft rustle.

She heard a loud thump and gave a small yelp before realizing that it was coming from Mr. Gray's room. Did he wake up? Should I wake the others?

She tip-toed over to Emrys' side, wrapping herself tightly with her arms. She buried her neck into the collar of her thin jacket and knelt, shaking Emrys' shoulder lightly.

"Um, are you awake?" she whispered awkwardly. She gave his shoulder another small shake. When he didn't wake, she slowly reached with her hand and gave his face a little poke. "Emrys," she whispered.

Why was his face so cold? Is he sick?

Suddenly, a loud bang followed by the rattle of an item dropping made her jump, fear crawling into her chest.

Nervously, she whirled her head back to Emrys and poked his face again. "Emrys! I think there's something wrong with Mister Gray!" she said a bit more loudly.

His eyes flickered open and he rolled on his back, surprised to see her standing over him. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and sat up. "Wha-? Hey, what are you doing?" he protested as she dragged him up to his feet.

"Just come!" she hissed urgently.

Jade led him to the door to Gray's room and explained, "I kept hearing noises from inside."

Emrys frowned. "Noises? I don't hear any-"

He was interrupted by a deafening bang, and the two jumped away from the door in surprise.

He quickly turned the handle and pushed the door open, shouting, "Gray!"

Jade and Emrys stumbled into the room to see Gray on his hands and knees on the floor, his muscles tense and his shoulders heaving.

"Mister Gray!" Jade cried out, moving closer.

"Wait!" Emrys grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Look!"

"But he's-"

"No, look."

Jade hesitated before doing as she was told. She turned her head and glanced at Gray uncertainly. It took her a moment before her eyes adjusted, and what she saw left her scared out of her wits.

Gray was completely engulfed in intense black fire, the flames spreading out from beneath him and all around, even above him up to the ceiling. White sparks of electricity crackled around him, flashing and blinking around his body.

But not only that, for some reason, there was a strong wind blowing inside the small room like a mini-tornado, despite the windows being closed tightly shut. That explained why there were so many thumping noises as they watched the digital clock get blown off the desk and onto the floor.

"What the hell...?" Emrys said under his breath.

Jade shifted her gaze to him, her hair blowing wildly in her face. "What do we do?"

Emrys pursed his lips and took a cautious step forward. "Gray?"

"Get...get water," he rasped, slowly pushing himself onto his feet. The black fire droned and flickered dangerously as he staggered on his two feet.

"Go- go get it," Emrys said to Jade. "I'll watch him in case anything happens."

Jade chewed on her lip anxiously as she darted out of the room to find a cup. Moments later she came running back inside, a glass of water in her hands. "Here," she whimpered, extending her arm towards Gray.

Emrys took the glass from her hands as he noticed her trembling arms. "I think it's better if I gave it," he offered. He held out the glass and slowly inched closer to Gray, careful not to be hit by any flying item.

Gray reached out with one hand, the other pressed against his sweaty forehead and electric-sparking eyes.

The second he touched the glass, ice spread from his fingertips and covered the entirety of the cup, freezing the water into solid ice within.

Emrys withdrew his hand in surprise before the spikes hit him and let the frozen cup slip and crash to the ground, shattering to pieces. He looked up and stared at Gray with wide eyes, shocked. "W- What? But...that's my power," he sputtered.

There was no way he had that same ability before...

Gray stared back at him, his mouth slightly agape. His eyes continued to crackle out of control even as the wind, fire, and electricity around him slowly died down.

Emrys stepped forward, assuming it was safe now. He kicked aside the ice shards as Jade followed behind him to help.

"Gray," Emrys said cautiously. "Gray, what's going on? How did you use ice-"

Suddenly, the wild spark in his eyes died out and he toppled, his eyes rolling back.

Jade gasped as Emrys rushed forward, catching him before he fell and hit the ground.

"Is he out again?" Jade quivered, drawing near. "What was that, exactly?"

Emrys was confused himself as he struggled to hold him up, Gray's head dead on top of his shoulder.

So many questions...he had so many questions to ask him the next time Gray came to.

A bang was heard outside the room as Milo suddenly came rushing in, frowning as he saw the current predicament. "I heard a commotion earlier," he began. "What happened?"

Emrys lower Gray back onto his bed and turned around.

"Hell if I knew," he said.