Cas, standing behind Ash, kicks the inside of his leg, and Ash loses balance. Instead of falling, he catches himself and throws something red and orange at Cas. Realizing what it is, Cas falls back to spare himself from being singed. Sebastian just threw fire at him. Fire! Cas gets mind manipulation and Sebastian gets to burn cities down. In what way is that at all fair?

Once he starts, Ash doesn't stop; he continues to throw fireballs at Cas, making him dance like a lucky leprechaun. Ironic.

"Use your ability, Rell!" Davenpore yells.

"I'd rather not," Cas calls back.

"And you'd rather burn like a torch? Pull your head together."

Cas growls in frustration. Technically, if he makes Ash see something that isn't there, he isn't violating any privacy.

But...he can't. One of the worst things is not knowing the difference between what's real and what's not.

Once Cas decides that he isn't stooping so low in a fight, he tries his hardest with his fist. He changes his tactics and charges for Ash, dodging the fireballs as best as he can. One singes his shoulder, and he winces. He's had worse. He gets one good hit to Ash's face before Sebastian overpowers him. He punches Cas in the stomach, then both sides of his face. Three more to the stomach, and Cas's down. He isn't getting back up.

Better to give up now than to do more damage later. At least, that what Cas's dad said before he left.

"How bad was it?" Cas asks as he's sipping a warm cup of coffee. He's laying in one of the infirmary beds with Salem beside him. Topher has no personal boundaries, so he's sitting across Cas on the bed eating red Twizzlers.

"It was bad," Topher announces. "The whole class saw you get destroyed by Sebastian Velenetene. There was blood on the mat. He got you good; you'll never be able to show yourself again. You'll have to cover your face, dye your hair (Blue is a great color to dye it), and you'll probably have to change your name."

"Shut up, Reese, you weren't even there," Say argues. He looks at Cas, his snake-like eyes staring like a predator playing with food. "It wasn't that bad. Everyone loses to Velenetene. It's impressive that you got some hits in. That bruise on his cheek? That'll be there for a while. You didn't use your ability, though. Why not?"

"Thanks for the coffee, Toph. Means a lot to me," Cas diverts.

Topher grins, "No problem. I saw how much you drank at lunch. I thought it might help with the headache. Did you know there is more than one type of coffee? Mind is blown! It took me at least ten minutes for me to figure out the best one. Well, I didn't figure it out, Salem told me. That's basically the same thing. It's the thought that counts."

Is it, though? Thinking about homicide never got a man locked up. The actions, however...

Cas forces a smile. Despite his high pain tolerance, Ash did a number on him, and all Cas really wants right now is to go to sleep in his bed. Wake him up when living gets easier.

"Cas, you never answered my question, why didn't-"

"Okay, boys, visiting times over," says Nurse Anai as she walks into the room. Without looking from her clipboard, she says, "You should head to dinner or get started on homework. Whatever it is that you boys do after school."

Topher flings up and gives a soul-squeezing hug. "Byeeeeee. We'll see you tomorrow. Be good. Be careful. Don't get into fights."

They're gone, and Cas sighs, falling to the pillow. There's a cut on Cas's brow from a punch and stomach bruising. His shoulder is bandaged from second-degree burns, but Anai says he's alright. This isn't how he planned for his day to end.

His phone rings, and Nurse Anai gives him a skeptical eye over her rectangular glasses.

"Sorry," he mutters as he rummages through his pants. He pulls out his phone. It's his sister.

"Hello?"

"The school called me saying you were injured. Well, they didn't call me. That would be ridiculous. They called the home phone and, duh, parents weren't home so I, the beautiful, lovely little sister that I am, decided to answer. Concerned and filled with grief, I decided to call you and make sure my oh-so-strong brother was alright. You promised Mom and Dad you wouldn't fight anymore. I remember, we were sitting at the dinner table, eating chili, which is just...ew, gross, and Dad was all like, 'will you still fight at the big-boy school?' Mom was like, 'we can't have you beating up kids, Caspian Bailey,' and I was all like, 'this is disgusting food. Why couldn't we have pizza?' You, my dearest, older brother said, and I quote, 'I'm not going to start fights, Mom.' And here you are, the first day of senior year, and I'm getting a call from the school saying you got hurt in a fight. Tch, tch, tch, shame on you. Do you have anything to say for yourself, Caspian Ayrell?"

Did she breathe once during that monologue?"

"You got it wrong, Rem. It was a fight during combat training. Totally normal. I'm not even that hurt."

"Not the point," Remy deadpans.

Cas hears a door open on the other side of the door, and Rem's words are muffled a bit. After a bit, Remy rushes, "I have to go. Love you."

"Wait, now? Oh, okay, I love-"

The line goes dead.

"-You, too."

If you asked him, Cas would say he never pouts or mopes, but he's pouting now when his little sister hangs up on him.

"Was that a girlfriend?" Nurse Anai snoops.

"Sister, actually," he's not in the mood right now. He's irritable and really just wants to go to bed, but his room has Sebastian. And a cat. He just wants to go home. The first day in and he's already homesick.

The last time he was homesick was when he didn't have a home to go back to. That's what fire does; it takes away the remains of treasured things. I'm not saying Cas is materialistic, but there's still a thirteen-year-old part of him that just wants to play in a red barn or hide in a farmhouse filled with a mother that cared and a father he looked up to.

An ache in Caspian's heart squeezes and doesn't let go. He wonders where the pain went all these years, and he realizes it never quite left; it was just hidden under memories made and the pure stubbornness to forget.