Aiden came by at lunch, bearing sandwiches from the cafeteria. Daren glared at his cousin and got up to leave, but stopped when Aiden put a sandwich on his desk. “What’s this for?”
“Your dad called my house last night.” Aiden explained. “He told my mom that you haven’t been eating properly.”
Daren’s glare deepened. “He should have cut all ties with that family.” He grumbled, taking the sandwich and storming out of the room.
“I’m guessing it’s complicated.” I commented, gratefully accepting the tuna sandwich I was handed. “Does Daren not get along with his parents?”
“Oh, no, that’s not it.” Aiden looked around the room, making sure there weren’t any eavesdroppers. “Daren gets along great with his parents. Just… not the rest of the family. Our dads are twins, so we’re always being compared.”
“That sucks.” Dawn sighed, chowing down on her lunch. “I didn’t realize twin syndrome continued down to the next generation.”
“It’s…” He gestured to me. “complicated. It wouldn’t have been, but grandma didn’t approve of where my uncle was taking his love life.”
“She doesn’t like your uncle’s wife?” I guessed.
Aiden laughed. “She doesn’t like his husband.”
Dawn nodded in understanding. “That would do it.”
“By the way,” Aiden quickly changed the subject. “did you two go by a third year classroom this morning? My classmates were talking about a ghost roaming the halls with a fairy.”
Dawn burst into laughter, holding her sides and nearly falling out of her chair. I let a chuckle slip from my throat. “We were up there, yes.” I remembered the feeling I’d gotten and mentioned it to Aiden.
“I haven’t heard of anything like that before.” He mused. “But, then again, this is the first time the stones have been separated. It’s possible…”
“Her belt!” Dawn exclaimed, recovering from her laughing fit. “There were all these coloured stones on it. I didn’t see all of them, but there could be one from the tiara.”
Aiden nodded. “I’ll ask around.” He promised.
***
When the end of the day finally rolled around, I was bouncing in my seat. For the first time since I’d gotten the tiara, I felt like I was actually helping. With no magic of my own, I thought I’d be stuck playing the part of the helpless princess.
If this sixth sense is a thing, then what else can I do? I thought gleefully as I packed up my books. My mind wandered back to the icy feeling I’d felt when I’d put on the tiara for Dawn. I am the Ice Princess, so maybe…
Dawn tapped her fingers on my desk impatiently, breaking me away from my thoughts. “Earth to Gwen. Did you hear me?”
“Sorry.” I quickly stood and grabbed my bag. “I was somewhere else.”
Dawn rolled her eyes. “Obviously. I know you, Gwen. You were staring at your Geo text like it was the most interesting thing in the world. And you hate geography.”
I could hear Daren trying and failing to supress a laugh, but I ignored him. “I was thinking about asking Daren to the holiday dance. Think he’d say yes?”
“What?” Daren looked alarmed as he sprang from his seat, toppling his chair.
“Guess that’s a no.” I gave an exaggerated sigh as Dawn snickered.
“Don’t joke about that!” He yelled, garnering the attention of the students still in the room. He looked around hastily before running from the room.
“Huh.” Dawn nodded to herself. “I never would have pegged him as the romantic type.”
I righted Daren’s chair and we left the room. As we walked to the roof, Dawn chattered about a new show she was watching. It was a one-sided discussion, but that was just how we meshed.
When I opened the door to the roof, I was surprised to see Aiden talking to the girl with green hair across a picnic table. She had her arms crossed, but she was listening intently to what he was saying.
“Ignis!” Dawn shouted. “Who’s your friend?”
He waved at us and the girl looked over. She smiled, but she looked a little bored. “This is Lilli.” Aiden introduced. “Lilli, this is Dawn and Gwyneira.”
“Gwen.” I amended. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Same.” She swung her legs over the bench so she wasn’t twisting to look at us. “You were at the shop last Friday. How’s the cactus?”
Dawn looked down and shuffled her feet. “I may have over-watered it.” She grimaced. “I’m really bad with plants.”
Lilli offered a sympathetic smile. “I can take a look at it. I’ve got a pretty green thumb. Just bring it by the shop some time.”
“Thanks!” Dawn grinned and plopped herself on the bench beside Lilli. I walked around to sit beside Aiden. “Are you guys in the same class?”
“One over.” Aiden explained. “But we were in the same class freshman year.”
“Back when Aiden had his hair dyed red.” Lilli smirked. “He looked like a fiery demon.”
Dawn gawked at him and he shrugged. “I had my rebellious phase.”
“Oh, and telling fairy-tales like their real isn’t rebellious?” Lilli shook her head and looked at me for support. “He claims he’s a magical guardian protecting a princess, and she thinks I’m a guardian, too.”
I blushed, embarrassed. “When you put it like that, it sounds crazy.” I pulled the tiara from my bag. “But it’s all true.”
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