Alright. Schools over. I have to wait for Syd now. Well, that's what I've been doing actually. It's been a minute or two. I don't know. Dev and Gazzy haven't passed by yet though. I was hoping I'd get to see them and tell them what's going on.

"Nate? What're you doing here? You waiting for someone?"

"Dev! Gazzy! Hey! I am waiting for someone, yeah. I was going to tell you guys-"

"Edwards! Let's go."

Shit... I didn't want this to happen! I turned on my heel to see Syd walking down the stairs and approaching me. As he turned the corner, he caught a glimpse of Dev and Gazzy, then froze... and glared.

"Syd? What do you want with Dear Nate? Is there something he owes you?"

"Shut it Gazzy. He doesn't owe me anything."

"Then, what do you want?"

Dev... please... for the love of God... don't do it.

"That's none of your business."

"The hell it isn't! He's my best friend! I'm allowed to know what you want with-"

"Dev! Syd! Calm down. Look. Dev, he's in my Fire class. We're doing a group project, and so I'm going to... his... house."

Dev's mouth... dropped. Gazzy just chuckled and covered his mouth. Syd scoffed as he crossed his arms.

"You're going where? Nate, what the hell are you thinking? Last time I checked, he made fun of you on the first fucking day."

"I know, I know. But, it's inevitable. The teacher paired us up-"

"Whatever! Come on Edwards."

Suddenly, Syd grabbed my sleeve and started dragging me towards the doors.

"Hey!"

Dev and Gazzy walked after us until Syd turned back and glared at them. The two of them stopped after that. I highly doubt it was because they were scared though.

"You can stop dragging me now. They stopped following us."

Nope. He didn't stop. Great. I don't know where we are, but oh well. He's leading me to his house and I can meet his parents and- Oh... yeah, I forgot. His parents died. I'm stupid. How could I forget the most important thing about this? Anyway, before I start regretting mentioning any of that... let's continue on complaining about how he's still dragging me...

"Syd, can you let go now?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

This is so very awkward. I don't know what to talk about! He's just dragging me to his house, of which I've never been to! He doesn't seem to like to listen to me either... then again when has anyone listened to me?

"We're here."

Suddenly, Syd came to a stop and let go of my sleeve, allowing me to stand up straight and stare at the normal sized house in front of me. I continued to observe my surroundings as I followed him inside. The layout of the first floor was pretty similar to the house I live in now, so nothing was new to me. However, Syd's house had a second floor, where the bedrooms were. The kitchen, I noticed, was almost completely empty though.

Wait. Now that I think about it. Does he have a part-time job or something? I mean he's got to make money somehow, right? Actually, he probably doesn't and that's why his kitchen is almost completely empty.

"Stop diddy dallying. My rooms upstairs."

Okay then. Now we're going to his room. Why are we doing it there and not in the living room or something?

"Edwards, you can chill out man. I'm not going to kill you."

"Y-Yeah, well, I highly doubt that right about now."

"Why? I'm not going to do anything against you. Trust me."

"I don't know if I can do that considering you hate my best friend."

He rolled his eyes and scoffed as he walked up the stairs. I followed behind him until he reached the second door on the left of a long hallway on the second floor. He turned to look at me for a brief moment then turned the doorknob and pushed open the door. Inside was an average sized bed for a teenager, a lot of books stacked along the walls and a couple posters on the wall. Beside the door was a small desk that had a laptop and a lamp on it. Syd walked in and sat down on his bed. I just kind of... stood in the doorway... This is so very awkward.

"Come in and sit down."

"R-Right."

As I walked in I noticed a chair that was strangely positioned close to the bed. I guess he likes to rest his legs up? Oh well. I sat down and did just that... sat silently. There was nothing else I could do.

"Edwards. Come over here."

I looked over at Syd, who had his arms crossed as he leaned over his legs. I slowly stood and walked over to him and stood next to him.

"We can get started if you want."

"Y-Yeah! Whatever you say."

"Actually, now that I think about it, we might have to go outside for this part."

Oh, okay then. He sighed as he led me outside and to the backyard, which was huge by the way! Syd eventually stopped, glanced over at me, then turned away and put his hands out.

"Back up a bit."

As I did so, his hands began to emit small flames that erupted into giant bursts of flame. I jumped away but stared. The flame was large and terrifying, but... also... entrancing.

"Whoa."

That's all I could get out. I mean, this guy that I've only just recently met is producing flames from his hands!

"This is part of the project. We need to produce a flame strong enough to melt steel. It's a group project because no one person can generate a flame that hot. Now, get over here and help."

"Y-Yeah, sure, if I knew how."

Syd scoffed and rolled his eyes as he let his arms fall and the flames dissipate. He slowly walked towards me and then behind me. I began to turn to look at him, but he stopped me by grabbing both of my hands. OH MY-

"Alright, now focus on the flame inside your soul. Focus on the brightness of it. Imagine it getting stronger, hotter, brighter. It's a flame that can not be put out. A flame stronger than any other. Bring out that flame. Bring into reality and pull it from the depths of your soul."

All the while I did as he told me to, I was trying not to focus on his hands which were still tightly holding onto mine! I gotta say, group projects rule!