I am back with a new chapter. Sorry for missing last week's update. I hope to continue writing more. Enjoy ~

~~Nova’s POV~~

The diner was truly on the edge of campus. The main school buildings seemed like small dots in the distance once we reached the diner. The diner was called Maggie’s Caf’. I assumed it was a shorter way of saying cafe, though I don’t know why anyone would shorten the word cafe.

Maggie’s Caf’ was a decent sized building with open windows surrounding the entire dining area. The building was bursting with people. There were students sitting at almost every table and even groups of students milling around the front of the building.

Blaze took me inside and the dining area was bright and definitely had a 50’s diner vibe to it. Soon, I saw the guys from before. They were all wearing regular clothes, which was interesting.

“Hey guys,” Blaze said with his bright smile stretching across his face as he sat down besides.. Riot? I think Riot was the biggest guy from the group. I am really bad with names.

“So, Nova, are you doing okay? Victoria asked, wrinkles leaving marks on her forehead.

I sat next to Quinn as Blaze took the seat across from me, next to Riot.

I shrugged, not really wanting to talk at the moment.

“The headmaster and headmistress spoke to the coaches this morning. And she told me that I can ask Nova if I can be his wielder.” Blaze’s smile was warm and comforting as he made full eye contact with me.

The crew erupted in loud cheers of happiness and congratulations, but all I heard was ringing and overall loudness. Immediately, my hands flew over my ears to try and mute as much sound as I possibly could.

As quick as the loudness came, it went away. Strangely, I felt the warmth and comfort feeling erupt through my entire body, then Blaze’s calm and quiet voice became the only thing I could hear.

“You create a bond with me. I made a sound barrier around just me and you. The crew is beating themselves over because they forgot about your sensitivity towards loud noises. Before I drop the barrier, I need to know if you are okay. Does anything hurt? I never realized your sensitivity was like this.”

My ears were still ringing, but the calm voice definitely helped as I could feel my body relax and let all the tension wash away. My hands were shaking a bit, as were my thighs, but overall I think I calmed down a lot quicker than I normal would.

Glancing up, I met the calming golden gaze and felt my body slowly relax completely. I nodded slowly. “I’m… I think I am okay now. I am sorry.” The roughness of speaking forced me to cough as my throat became itchy.

“It’s okay. We can speak about all of this at a later date, Nova. Whenever you are comfortable and when I can make you hot tea. It will help your throat.”

I nodded and could feel the sound barrier slowly dissipate.

“Nova. We are so sorry.” Victoria spoke this time, her voice was softer.

West nodded, “We were just overly excited. Blaze hasn’t been able to get a holder since he came to Whitehall.”

“Anyways, are you going to accept it, Nova?” Quinn spoke, his strange blue and hazel eyes staring at me. I felt like he could see into my soul.

“Accept?” Despite feeling like Quinn was probing through my soul, I was also confused. Did I have to accept Blaze as my wielder? I thought wielders and holders got assigned.

“Yes, accept. A wielder has to ask the holder to accept them as their wielder. It's because a holder ultimately has full control.” Quinn spoke first.

Victoria continued, “Yes, the wielder technically uses the magic from the holder, but the holder can cut the bond whenever they feel like. A wielder is reliant on the holder for their magic. If the bond is spontaneously cut off, especially in the heat of a battle or war, the wielder is defenseless and left vulnerable because they have no magic to access. Does that make sense?”

I nodded. I remember learning about that in the bonding and releasing class. I wasn’t really paying much attention as the class was quite boring when we were sitting in the classrooms, learning stuff from the textbook.

“So,” Blaze looked at me, “Will you accept me as your wielder?”

Without needing to think, I nodded. I knew I welcomed the feeling the bond created when I was bonded with Blaze. The bond made me feel warm and calm. I wanted it to be around as long as time allows.

I could see Victoria trying hard to quietly celebrate. It was kind of amusing and I couldn’t stop the small laugh as if bubbled up my throat and filled the small silence around the crew. Everyone was immediately shocked. My hand flew to cover my mouth as the laughter stopped. My eyes were wide as I stared mainly at Blaze.

Blaze’s shocked face melted into a heartwarming smile. “It’s okay, Nova.”

His words broke the shocked silence. The crew slowly relaxed as soft or contented smiles lit up each person’s face.

“Welcome to Maggie’s Caf’. Sorry for the wait, we are always terribly busy. I’m Nan, what can I get for y’all today?” The waitress, a short and skinny older woman (maybe over 60), stood with a kind smile at the edge of our table.

The orders began quickly.

“I’ll take the breakfast special and a glass of orange juice.” Blaze spoke first.

Riot listed his order next, “I will get the chocolate pancakes with bacon, sausage, sunny side up eggs, and an order of grits with butter and a stack of french toast. Strawberry maple syrup please, and a glass of milk. Maybe two.”

Quinn rolled his eyes at Riot’s order before speaking, “I will just take a bowl of maple and brown sugar oatmeal and a plate of hash browns, please. Black coffee for my drink.”

“Can I have the nutella french toasts and a side order of bacon and cheesy hash browns. And a glass of sweet sweet tea.” Victoria smiled, her eyes filled with excitement.

West glanced up from looking at the menu, a small sigh left his mouth before he shrugged. “I’m not particularly hungry. Can I just have an order of hash browns and a mug of black coffee?”

Then it was my turn. I glanced at the menu before looking at Blaze, anxiety clouding my emotions immediately.

“Sweetheart? What would you like?” Nan, the waitress, spoke kindly towards me, but her question made my anxiety worse.

Blaze looked at Nan, mumbling a small, “One moment,” before I felt the surrounding sound fade away.

“I put the barrier up again. You can tell me what you want and I will tell Nan. Is that okay?”

My anxiety faded to embarrassment and I could feel my cheeks heat up in response. I nodded slowly.

Blaze smiled warmly. “It’s okay, Nova. No one minds. Everyone understands if you aren’t comfortable speaking to anyone for any reason.”

Taking a deep breath, I relaxed and spoke as loud as I could (which was still quiet), “Can I have chocolate pancakes… bacon, and hash browns?”

“Of course, Nova. Do you want chocolate milk to drink?” Blaze asked and I nodded in affirmation.

The surrounding sounds returned slowly before I watched Blaze repeat my order to Nan. The older lady smiled and told us our orders will be ready as soon as possible before leaving. The crew was quiet for a moment, the silence becoming almost unbearable for me.

“Hey,” West spoke up first. He was the more quiet one out of the crew. “Who’s going to the football game this weekend?”

Victoria rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Always with football. I’m not. Studies are piling up and I am suffocating.” The tan-skinned female rubbed her face in exhaustion, stress filling her eyes. I could see now how tired she was by the slightly dark circles under her eyes. It was hard to see unless you looked close enough due to her skin being very tanned naturally. I could understand how she felt, being constantly tired all the time.

West glanced at her before sighing, closing his eyes, and leaning back against the booth’s cushion. “Sorry if I try to make some form of conversation. The silence was annoying me.”

“Silence always annoys you.” Riot huffed out as he scratched his shaved head.

Quinn was looking down at his phone before setting it down. “If everyone is down for it, my mom is going to be out of town for the next week. We could have a sleepover this weekend.”

“Sleepover?” Blaze scoffed out in a joking manner.

Quinn’s cheeks flushed a bright red. “It was just an offer,” he mumbled as his head fell and he stared at his lap.

My face scrunched up in confusion. “I thought… everyone lived in dorms?”

West shook his head. “Not everyone. Quinn and myself live in the neighborhood on the edge of the barrier for the campus. It’s basically where all the magic families live. Most students live in the dorms to get away from their parents, but Quinn is an only child and my parents are never home, but my parents hate having anyone over.”

I nodded in understanding.

“I’m down for a sleepover. We haven’t thrown one in a while.” Riot’s rough voice changed the conversation back to Quinn’s offer. The smaller male’s face went even a darker red.

Victoria groaned and shrugged. “Fuck it. If I made it this far with barely studying, I can graduate the same way. Let’s throw a sleepover.”

West ran his hand through dyed blue hair before sighing, “I guess I have to go now.”

Quinn lifted his head as he glanced around the crew before looking at Blaze and I. “What about you two?”

Blaze’s gaze met mine, silently asking me for my answer to the offer. I didn’t know the group that well and I have never had friends or even been to a sleepover before. This was new and strange to me. Do I go? Should I go? I think if Blaze goes then I can go, because I will have him to go to in case I need help with something.

I nodded at Blaze.

Blaze’s eyes warmed, almost shining gold, as he looked at Quinn. “We will go as well.”

Quinn smiled shyly, still filled with a small amount of embarrassment at the suggestion.