Giselle groaned, letting her head fall into her hands. This was it. She was going to fail her Magical Theory exam. She just couldn't remember all the names of notable sorcerers in the field, much less the more complicated terminology. She had been studying for hours, and still didn't feel confident. Plus, the words were starting to blur together.

"Hey there, beautiful," a voice said loudly from behind her. She jumped, hitting her head against her desk lamp.

"Oops," the voice chuckled.

Giselle narrowed her eyes. She knew that voice. She turned around with a sigh. "How'd you get into my dorm, Juan?"

"The window."

"Naturally." She winced, rubbing her forehead.

"Sorry about the bump," he said, sounding a little guilty.

"It's fine," she grumbled. She sighed again. "What are you doing here?"

He spread his hands. "What? Are you not overjoyed to see me?"

Giselle chuckled. "Don't get a big head."

"Me? Get a big head? Never!" he exclaimed dramatically. Giselle laughed, unable to help herself.

Juan grinned. "Okay, but seriously, I'm here to rescue you."

Giselle frowned. "Rescue me? From what?"

Juan raised an eyebrow. "Giselle, you've been studying for nine straight hours. Have you even eaten?"

Giselle looked at the floor guiltily. "Um..."

"This is unhealthy," he chided. "You've studied enough. Anything past this point won't even help."

"That's not—"

"Giselle. Please. Give it a rest. Take a walk with me, we'll go hang out on the Green with Marietta, Walter, and Greg."

Giselle wrinkled her nose. "Seriously? Greg is there?"

Juan looked at her reproachfully. "Look, I don't love him either, but he's not that bad."

Giselle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay, sure."

Juan's eyes lit up. "So you'll come?"

Giselle bit her lip and looked back at her textbook. Juan did have a point...she never performed well under stress. Maybe she did need a break.

She looked back at him. "One condition: after, you walk back here with me and answer all my theory questions. You're really good at that."

Juan grinned. "Deal."

Giselle couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. Juan had a dimple on his left cheek that made his smile almost unbearably adorable. Sometimes, he got her to do the craziest things, just because she couldn't resist that radiant smile.

She stood up and walked out of the room with him. His hands were leisurely tucked in his pockets, his grin still present. Giselle wrapped her arms around her chest, taking a deep breath. It felt strange, walking away from her study desk. With finals looming over her head like a tsunami, she hadn't left her room in a few days.

"None of that," Juan said suddenly.

"None of what?"

"Your arms." He batted at her folded arms. "Keeping your arms close to your chest for reasons other that temperature is a sign of insecurity. It makes you feel smaller. You should power pose instead."

"Power pose?" Giselle asked, laughing slightly.

"Yeah! Something like a superhero." He put his arms into a V above his head like he was reaching for something. "Power pose!"

Giselle laughed. "How's this?" She moved her hands to her hips.

"Perfect!" Juan cheered. "Now say, I am Giselle Laroche, and I am beautiful, powerful, and intelligent."

"What?!"

"Say it."

Giselle rolled her eyes. "I am Giselle Laroche, and I am beautiful, powerful, and intelligent."

"You were lacking in gusto, but we'll work on that."

They finally arrived on the Green, a large, open area in between the dorms and the other school buildings. It was simple but beautiful, covered in soft grass and shaded by trees. As was usual on a nice evening, sorcerers were sprawled out among the open area chatting quietly. Giselle spotted Marietta waving them over.

Marietta had set up a sort of impromptu picnic, completely with a gingham blanket and a wicker basket covered in flower chains. Walter was leaning against a nearby tree, flipping through a thick book. Then Giselle spotted a certain tall, dark skinned boy and her heart dropped.

"I forgot Greg was here," she muttered.

"Stay strong," Juan whispered.

As soon as Greg spotted them, he leapt up. "Ah, Mademoiselle Giselle, a pleasure to see you as always. Such beauty is so rarely seen in this harsh world." His voice was smooth. He stepped forward and grabbed Giselle's hand, kissing the back of it. Giselle heard Marietta giggle.

"Hey, Greg," Giselle said, removing her hand and smiling uncomfortably.

Juan snorted.

"Giselle! Come sit down!" Marietta called. "I've spent all day baking, you have to try everything so you can tell me what you think!"

Grateful for the excuse to move away from Greg, Giselle sat down next to Marietta. Juan sprawled out on the grass next to the blanket. "Hey, Walter," he greeted, waving at the blonde boy propped up against the tree.

Walter nodded, not moving his eyes from the book.

Marietta sighed. "I've been trying to convince him to eat something for FOREVER, but apparently it's the final battle in his book or something, so—"

"So he won't budge," Giselle finished. "Figured it was something like that."

Greg sat down across from the two girls. "So, Giselle, how has your day been? Marietta said you were studying. You're so smart and hardworking! I'm always impressed with your dedication."

Giselle half smiled. "Uh, thanks."

"Hey, Greg, friendly reminder that her 'hard work and dedication' is intense to the point of unhealthy," Juan said, a menacing edge to his voice. "I convinced her to take a break so she doesn't have a complete mental breakdown."

"Oh," Greg said, clearly at a loss for words.

Giselle shifted awkwardly. She didn't like being the center of attention like this.

"Who wants a brownie?" Marietta asked brightly, clearly trying to divert the conversation.

The brownies were passed around, with the exception of Walter. Giselle didn't exactly love sweets, but the brownies were good. The knot of tension in her stomach was slowly unraveling.

"Ooh, Giselle, can I braid flowers into your hair?!" Marietta asked. The red haired girl always had to be doing something with her hands, whether it was doodling, baking, braiding, or otherwise. Giselle wasn't sure she ever sat still.

Giselle laughed, unraveling her long platinum blonde hair from the messy bun on top of her head. "Sure."

Marietta squealed in delight and moved behind her friend, running her hands through her hair and separating into three sections. Giselle smiled as the artistic girl began to braid. It was calming.

"So, Giselle," Greg asked, attempting to come back from his earlier mistake, "how have you been recently? It seems like we haven't seen each other in at least a fortnight."

Greg had an odd way of talking, somewhere in between dramatically formal and casual conversational. Shoved together, it was awkward and left the listener confused for a few moments before responding.

"I'm doing alright," Giselle said politely. "Exam time is a little stressful."

"You will do fabulously well, I'm sure," Greg replied. "You shouldn't fret."

"Thanks, but telling me I shouldn't worry doesn't really change anything about me worrying," Giselle said with a tight lipped smile. It was one of the things about Greg that annoyed her the most. He was so desperate to compliment her, everything he said seemed empty.

"How can you be worrying about exams when there are monsters sightings a few miles offshore?!" Marietta exclaimed.

Giselle sighed. Marietta had been needlessly worried about the growing sightings of monsters lately. Everyone knew they were out there, but they tended to stay isolated, with the exception of some pack monsters.

"You shouldn't worry about those, Mari," Giselle said kindly. "Sure it's a little weird, but I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

"Besides, they could never make it on shore," Juan said. "Our defenses are too good."

Marietta looked a little put out, but didn't pursue the issue. Giselle understood, to a degree, that nothing they said would truly ease her conscious. Primal fear for survival was hard to eradicate.

Just then, an earsplitting roar rang out across the island.

Everyone looked up in a flash. A shock of fear ran down Giselle's spine. No. It couldn't be happening. They had defenses, like Juan said.

"Marietta, what did you do?" Walter said accusingly.

Marietta gaped. "Do?! I didn't do anything!"

"You were talking about monsters, and now a monster shows up."

"That isn't my fault!"

"Shut up!" Juan shouted, his eyes wider than usual. "Stop bickering and run!"

Greg stood up and bolted towards a nearby building. The air was filled with screams of the fleeing students.

Giselle was frozen. The monster roared again. Her brain was going blank. How was this possible?

Suddenly, she felt a strong hand tank her to her feet. She looked directly into the warm brown eyes of Juan Marquez. "Giselle," he said urgently, "we need to go."

Giselle nodded numbly and allowed Juan to drag her away. The world seemed to grow fuzzy around her and the sounds of people screaming blurred together. She could vaguely perceive Juan shouting something, but she couldn't make out the words. She blindly followed the tug of his hands.

Then suddenly, she was sitting down in an alley between two of the dorm buildings and Juan had his hands on her shoulders telling that she was fine, she was going to be okay, just breathe, everything was okay.

She took a few shaky breaths. The world focused.

"Giselle? Can you hear me?"

Slowly, she nodded.

Juan exhaled in relief. "Oh man, that's good." He ran a hand through his curly hair.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Hey hey hey, don't apologize," he said quickly. "You don't have to feel guilty about being scared of a freaking monster." He grinned.

Giselle slouched into herself, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "You weren't scared."

"What? I'm totally freaking out right now," he said, laughing nervously. "I just bolt when I get scared, and you freeze. That's totally fine. It's different."

Giselle felt her heart grow a bit warmer. "Thanks," she whispered.

He shifted until he was sitting next to her, his back leaning against the wall. They sat in silence for a while, listening to the distant roars of whatever monster was terrorizing the island.

"It's sounds like a dragon," Giselle said eventually, her voice shaking.

"I thought dragons were a Legend form."

"Oh. Right. Can something be both?"

"I'm not sure that's a thing."

Giselle shoves Juan playfully and he laughed.

Another roar echoed off the walls, louder this time. Giselle shrunk in on herself.

"Why aren't the teachers doing anything?" she whispered.

Juan shrugged halfheartedly. "I'm sure they're doing something."

Silence.

Giselle shuddered involuntarily. Juan hesitated for a moment, then slowly draped an arm around her narrow shoulders. "You'll be alright," he said softly. "I gotcha."

Giselle's heart started beating a little bit faster. What was this? Juan had never done anything like this before. Sure, he joked around and called her beautiful, but nothing quite so loving and intimate.

But yet...she didn't mind.

Suddenly, there was another ear splitting shriek, louder than any of the previous ones. Giselle felt Juan tense up beside her. "Hey, Giselle, I think—"

And then the monster landed with a thud at the entrance to their alleyway, blocking their only escape.

It was a hulking beast, complete with titanium scales and razor sharp teeth. The claws sparked on the cobblestones when they connected, and great wings unfurled above its back.

"That is a dragon," Juan said breathlessly.

Giselle stared in shock. "Wyvern."

"What?"

"It's not a dragon, it's a wyvern. They're characterized by two legs and a barbed tail."

"That sounds like a type of dragon."

"Um—"

The wyvern shrieked again, effectively cutting off the panicked conversation. It began to make its way forward.

Giselle screamed, stumbling backwards. Juan rushed forward, determination in his eyes. "Hey, you! Stupid lizard! You wanna piece of this, huh?!"

The wyvern turned away from Giselle and screeched at the Cuban boy. Its tail rose above its head and Giselle knew what would come next.

Panic set in. It was going to hurt Juan. The person that protected her, that cared for her, that was there for her through anything...he was going to be hurt. He was protecting her, and because of that, he was going to be hurt.

A strange buzz built up in her body. Her eyes widened as she recognized what was happening. She usually tried to suppress it, but there was no time.

Everything happened in slow motion.

The wyvern's tail released its spikes.

Giselle held up a hand.

Juan dove to the side, a spike grazing his arm.

Giselle aimed for the eyes.

The wyvern turned to look at her.

And she fired.

A blast of purple flame shot out of her palm, streaking forward and hitting the great beast square in the eye. It shrieked in agony, stumbling backward.

Another bolt of purple fire exploded from her hand, this time hitting the wyvern's exposed neck. With one final screech of pain, the monster flapped its leathery wings and took off into the sky.

Giselle was still buzzing, her body coursing with power and adrenaline. In the absence of the threat, she could almost hear herself hum.

Shaking, she lowered her arm and clenched her hand in a fist. She took a rattling breath. She had sworn. She had sworn she would never do it again. But Juan was in danger. What choice did she have?

"Giselle?" a soft voice whispered.

Giselle wrapped her arms around her stomach, not ready to look at her friend. She took another unsteady breath. Her head was spinning.

"Giselle, what was that?" he asked quietly, a touch of fear in his voice.

The young girl shut her eyes tightly. "I don't know. I've been able to do it since I was born. Sometimes, it just happens, and I try not to do it, I really do, I just, you were in danger, and I didn't know what to do, and—"

"Does anybody know?" he interrupted.

Slowly, she shook her head.

"Oh."

"Please don't tell anyone!" she begged suddenly. "You have to understand, Juan, I've been a freak all my life, I don't want to be a freak even for a sorcerer, I just—"

Nearby voices cut her off. She whipped her head towards the noise in fear. Before she could process what had happened, four of the professors turned the corner.

"Heavens, what happened?" Madame Bastier asked, waving her hand wildly in reference to the absence of the wyvern.

Juan didn't speak for a moment. Giselle felt fear run down her spine. He wouldn't tell them, would he? She took a breath. "Well, you see, what happened was that—"

"Giselle saved the day," Juan interrupted.

Giselle looked at him in amazement.

Juan slowly got to his feet. "She's brilliant, she really is. See, I was trying to be stupid and brave and distract the dragon—I mean, wyvern, I think, that's what you called it, right, Giselle?—and while I was running around like an idiot, she was actually thinking. She took this nearby branch and stabbed it right into the monster's eye. It was crazy! She knew its exact weak spot. Well, the branch is stuck there now and the wyvern flew away, so really, Giselle saved everyone is the long and short of it."

Giselle was speechless. She gaped at her friend.

"We are indebted to you, Ms. Laroche," said one of the professors. "Thank you for your courage and quick thinking."

Giselle smiles weakly, still unable to speak.

"I think she's a little shaken up, so I'm just gonna take her back to her dorm, if that's alright?" Juan put a guiding arm around her shoulders. "You guys can interview her tomorrow but I think she needs some rest."

"Of course. Thank you, Mr. Marquez."

They walked in silence all the way back to the dorm, Juan's comforting arm steering her safely. She was more grateful than he knew. She wasn't sure she would have been able to get back on her own.

When she was finally in her room, she spoke. "Thank you."

He grinned. "Ah, no problem." His smile softened into something more genuine. "You may not believe me when I say this, but...I will always be here for you, Giselle." The self-assured grin returned. "And if that means hiding a major secret from the government, I'm down for that too."

Giselle laughed. "You relish the idea of being a criminal in the eyes of the law?"

Juan snorted. "See, if I had a jar of relish right now, I would totally whip it out and say, 'I relish you', but sadly, I don't. Wasted opportunity."

"Ah, yes. It really is a tragedy that we all don't carry around relish with us all the time."

"Isn't it though?"

She laughed again, and looked up at him. They made eye contact for a second too long.

Juan cleared his throat and looked away. "Well, I wasn't lying when I said you needed to rest. Get some sleep." He started towards the door.

Just as he crossed the doorframe, Giselle's heart skipped a beat. "Juan, wait!"

He turned around. "Yeah?"

But she didn't know what to say.

She looked down. "Thank you. Again."

He smiled. "Hey, don't mention it. I should really be thanking you for saving my life." He winked. "Goodnight, Giselle."

Then he was gone.

And though she was exhausted, and she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, she couldn't ignore the warm beat of her heart and the smile she couldn't seem to get off her face.

~~~~

Y'all best be grateful that I love you, because this chapter was a) not easy to write and b) NOT EASY TO POST because Wattpad was being stupid and not letting me copy anything??? That said.

What did you think of this lil snippet? Giselle and Juan's growing relationship? In future shorts, what do you want to see more of? Marietta? Walter? Greg? Lemme know.

Much love (also I'm exhausted),

Margot