When Aidan came to a stop in front of Fabien, whispers soon turned to loud shouts and a vicious atmosphere started to take hold on the students watching.

Fabien’s mouth formed into a frown as he met Aidan’s glare. “You want to do this now?” He asked, his voice filled with sharp command.

Aidan said nothing as he reached forward and pulled out his map from Fabien’s jacket pocket. “I’ll be needing this.”

The tension that filled the air soon turned to bitter disappointment. 

Fabien’s mouth quirked as he took a step closer, his face inches from Aidan’s. “We have the same classes. I don’t see why you need that.”

Aidan forced himself not to take a step back. He didn’t appreciate being this close to Fabien, but he wasn’t about to show weakness. “If we have the same classes, I don’t see why you need it.”

“You’re being childish, Aidan.” Fabien stated as he made to take the map.

 Aidan jumped out of range and headed toward the exit. “Says the one that stole this from me in the first place.”

Fabien let out a quiet sigh as he watched Aidan’s retreating figure. There was something inside Aidan, waiting to be released. If only he would use his magic, Fabien’s life would be so much easier.

Fifteen minutes later, Aidan found himself sitting next to Fabien in the back row of the classroom. The aisles were tiered, so they sat at the highest point in the room. Aidan would have preferred sitting closer, but after noticing more than a handful of familiar faces from the previous class, he thought it better to blend into the background.

“Why do you want to be a Demon Hunter?” Fabien suddenly asked, irritation brewing just below the surface.

Aidan glanced at Fabien with narrowed eyes. “I’m not telling you.” 

Fabien let out a quiet sigh before leaning back in his seat. There was yet another shift in the auras he could feel from the other students. Rather than keeping a consistent energy, tension filled each person until it bubbled and crackled against the stagnant air.

He cast a glance at Aidan and was surprised to see that his aura remained clear amidst the tension shifting off everyone else.

Fabien would be able to see Aidan’s aura better if he was able to touch him. A person’s magical energy was clearer with direct contact. He narrowed his eyes at Aidan’s bare arm resting against the desk. While it wouldn’t be a good idea to cause a scene, the temptation to uncover Aidan’s aura was stronger.

Fabien leaned forward and shrugged out of his jacket, revealing a black t-shirt with a faded logo on the front. Class didn’t start for another ten minutes. It was plenty of time for him to test Aidan. He let out a sigh as he slowly leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk.

He felt ridiculous.

Fabien shifted slightly to the right, causing his arm to barely brush against Aidan’s. He didn’t think Aidan felt it since he looked to be deep in thought.

With the reassurance of Aidan’s unintended cooperation, Fabien expanded his magic and allowed the lightest touch to reach Aidan’s aura.

The world faded to shadows as Fabien focused on a power that felt unnatural for a human to possess. His eyes were closed but he could see the different shifts in colors swirling around him from the other students.

Some were filled with so much darkness while others had too much light. Not one person had a perfect balance of light and dark. But that was to be expected. Having a balanced aura was something no human could ever accomplish in such a short lifespan. Perhaps, if humans lived for a few centuries, their auras would balance out.

Eventually. 

Fabien shook his head to clear it before settling his attention on Aidan. What he saw was nearly impossible to believe. Colors beyond the normal spectrum assaulted his vision as he took in an aura so balanced, so pure, so colorful that it almost hurt to look at.

There was darkness inside Aidan, and an alarming amount of it. But there was enough light piercing through that darkness to counterbalance it.

However, that did nothing to dull the magnificent colors that swirled in a constant wave of balance. Those colors shimmered like rippling water. Deep blue, purple, red, orange, green, yellow—every color imaginable—was contained in perfect balance with one another inside Aidan’s aura.

That shouldn’t be possible. Yet Fabien was unable to look away. Unwilling to lose sight of such a beautiful thing.