During the next couple of weeks, the strange things in my life stayed unexplained. The dragon continued to grow at an alarming rate. After the first week, it was bigger than a large adult Great Dane, and by the end of the second, it had reached a similar size and mass to a small pony. The dog bed was gone, not suitable any more, and a pile of blankets had been laid down instead. While there was still room inside the shed for it to be comfortable, I shifted a lot of the cluttered contents into the attic to make space. Whatever was easily flammable or taking up floor area, I found another home for it.

Food was also starting to be a concern. The butcher had been fine giving me more offcuts, but as its appetite increased, I knew the story of feeding growing puppies would wear thin fast if I was going back for more every day or two. Still, the dragon seemed to be content with how things were going, and even though it was basically stuck indoors, it wasn't unhappy. I guessed at a younger age, the feeling of being in a lair was appealing; a dark confined space, a source of food and a guardian figure that provided it with some attention probably appealed to its racial instincts. I had no idea what 'racial instincts' really meant with a creature like this, since my favourite fantasy novels that included dragons weren't actually a scientific guide on how to raise them, but it seemed I was doing okay so far.

Regardless, what was going to happen to it in the future was definitely stressing me out. I lost some sleep over it, and I was sure Lucy was noticing that I was more tired than normal. She kept her word and didn't bug me about it, and I continued to keep mine too.

Theo.

I don't know what it was, but his behaviour changed after he had made Brittany leave us alone in the school cafeteria. It wasn't anything major, but it felt like he had backed off a bit. He was acting more like a normal teenager, and less the mystery that he'd been when I first encountered him. We would text a lot, almost as much as I did with Lucy, and I found he had a very dry sense of humour and a sharp wit. He joined us a couple of times after school, when a few of us would kick around a soccer ball on one of the empty fields until we got bored and went home. He was definitely as athletic as he appeared to be, and while he was fast, he had little finesse with ball control, though great at blocking; well-suited for defence. I was accustomed to a balance and had stamina, making me a good match for midfield, while Lucy was extremely fast with the footwork and great at trick shots. Whenever we played sides, if all three of us were on the same team, we were basically unbeatable.

It was a lot of fun.

He began to sit with us every day at lunch too, and it didn't escape my notice that he always managed to find a spot next to me. He kept the way he was acting very incognito, and I was sure the other less-aware members of our social group weren't seeing it, but I could tell he was giving me special attention. He never pressed it though, and weirdly, Lucy also never said anything. Just as I could tell that he was giving me space, she must have been able to as well, but she was also showing an extraordinary amount of self-discipline in not bugging me nor dropping the sort of hints I'd expect from her.

Still, as I walked home on a Thursday afternoon, sweater draped over my arm in the warmth, a bit sweaty from running around the sports field, I was thinking about everything, and I had come to a strange conclusion. I wasn't expecting to feel anything different; maybe happiness that I was making a new friend, or enjoyment because of attention paid to me, or just flattered that I was important to someone else.

But, I was beginning to like it.

I couldn't quite explain it, but I wanted to keep Theo's attention. He was funny, he was interesting, he was easy to hang out with, he was respectful of me and my space. I knew he was interested in me; to deny that was to be complete