Chapter Twenty Two

"Gabriel?" Carlo's eyes widened as he opened the door to us. His town eyes flicked towards me. "And Aidan too. My my, you just come in." He led us into his house, that was a small bungalow, with warm, yellow light emitting from the windows and doors.

Carlo was wearing a red and grey dressing gown as he went into the kitchen. The warmth surrounded and I felt at ease. I closed the door behind me and followed Gabriel and Carlo into the kitchen. He turned back towards us and gestured for us to take a seat.

"What happened?" He said, eyes gleaming with worry. I sat down heavily in one of his seats and clenched my hands together. My leg did that twitchy thing where it sometimes bounces up and down really fast.

I cleared my throat, but as I opened my mouth nothing came out. I suddenly felt self conscious and shyness rose and crashed against me. I glanced up at Gabriel through my eyelashes. He gave me a smile and looked towards Carlo.

"Me and Aidan were hanging out tonight, near the Garage." He began, and I crept my hand towards his, and clutched it. His hand was warm, warmer than usual, and it made my cheeks flush that I was able to hold him like this. "Then Aidan..." he trailed off and glanced towards me. He bit his lip and had a question in his eyes. It was as if he was asking permission. I have a small nod, still shaken and worried about the whole ordeal. Carlo's warm house and calming vibes were helpful, but it didn't completely shake away the feeling of anxiety.

"And Aidan did this really powerful thing where she shot this lightning bolt into the sky, and-"

"That was you?" Carlo interrupted, his eyes wide in astonishment. I pressed my lips together and nodded meekly. My palm still stung with the memory. "That was very impressive. I could feel some powerful magic and the shock waves vibrating off it."

"...and Aidan was really tired as it zapped all her energy and stuff." Gabriel continued the conversation after I went bright red. "Then I don't really know what happened."

I didn't say anothing so a second, gnawing on the cuff of my denim jacket for a second, before clearing my throat.

"Well," I cleared my throat again as my voice came out raspy and weird. "I was so exhausted that I had to lean against something to not fall over." I smiled softly when I remembered how drunk I looked and felt. "Then I used some energy to clear my mind." I shot a glance at Carlo, who's eyes looked like they were begging for me to continue. "Then i saw my grandma- her name is Patricia Halter. She's come down recently to support my father and then she realised I was a witch." I felt my face suddenly flush with embarrassment. "Then I made the mistake of telling her about the Saints."

Carlo drew out a long breath as if he was fighting frustration and I didn't blame him. I honestly didn't know what came over me to tell her. I guess I just wanted someone experienced to talk to?

"It was really just because I don't have any family who are witches, so I didn't have anyone close to me to talk to," I rambled hurriedly. "Then she said something about the Saints being worth a lot of money. She went on about not hurting me and I ran. She chased after me up the playground and I shot her with a lightning bolt, then Gabriel arrived." I nodded him to finish the story.

"Then we came to you," Gabriel shrugged and said simply. Carlo brushed his thumb along his lower lip and thought for a second.

Then he straightened. "Can I get either of you a cup of coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate perhaps?"

"A hot chocolate sounds great right about now." I mumbled, fiddling with one of the buttons on my jacket. Gabriel asked for the same and Carlo spun around, jostling with the cutlery.

"Well." He opened the cupboard and brought out two mugs. "I must tell the elders about this, and we will have your grandma secured. What does she look like, by the way?"

"Small, around 5'5, pale yellow hair, around 60 with green eyes. Probably looks a little insane." Gabriel interjected, i shot him an appreciative glance as another wave of exhaustion hit me.

Carlo's head nodded and he put the kettle on. "And we need to make sure this never happens again." He pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge beside him. "Maybe we need guards or something for you?"

I shivered. "I don't like the idea of people following me 24/7." That sounded whiny to my ears, but I didn't really care at this exact moment in time.

"Sure." He said quickly. "We won't make it two obvious, just keeping an eye on all of you in a public place." He poured the steaming water into the mug, then added the sashays of chocolate powder. "And you should have a curfew, and so on." The metal spoons clinked against the mug. "We can discuss it more tomorrow, as it is a weekend."

He passed me one of the steaming mugs. I murmured a thank you as the steam hit my nose, making my whole face flush and the sweet smell wafting into my taste buds.

I cupped the mug with my cuff's covering my hands from the hot china, and blew on the liquid softly.

"Tell me, Aidan." Carlo took a seat beside me, a warm look glinting in his eyes. "Why were you so eager to tell someone about the Saints. Surely you knew it was dangerous?"

My shoulders sagged and I studied the cup as if it were the last question of my SAT maths test. "I don't know, really." I felt small as both Gabriel and Carlo watched me. It was as if my calm, outgoing exterior had broken down and they were witnessing raw, true emotion.

"I guess I just wanted to talk to someone about it." Carlo opened his mouth to object but I cut him off. "Someone experienced." Gabriel then opened his jaws to eat something, but I cut him off too. "Someone I've known my whole life." I shook my head and let my wild frizzy curls fall in front of my face like a curtain. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

"Of course not." Gabriel shuffled closer, his chair dragging and making a squeal on the floor. "Any of us could have made the mistake. The point is that no one got hurt and we've learned. Well let everybody know and so they'll know what to do."

I felt the rope wrapped around my stomach unfurl slightly. I straightened my spine, that ached a little from slouching, and put down the mug. I waited until Gabriel had done likewise, and threw myself into his arms, burying my face into his neck and breathing in his scent. Was that weird? His scent? Yeah that was totally weird. I don't have a fetish or anything.

But with Gabriel, and my friends, and Carlo by my side, I was confident we were going to get through this and win this for the world.

A/N: sorry for the short chapters and sorry for the bad writing. Okay. Now stuff is actually gonna start happening. The climax is upon us, baby!

Okay, cya!

Votes, comments and shares would be great! Thank you!