I've never been the best at making friends, but even I knew that stalking said potential friends all day is the one of the worst ways to meet them.

Technically speaking, I suppose I had met some of them before. But that didn't make us friends. Then again, I wouldn't know. I didn't exactly have friends to compare the situation to.

They were in someone's backyard, sitting around the pool with their legs dangling in. The tall stocky one--Deynan?--was splashing the more petite, curly brown haired girl. I was almost positive her name was Sophie. They were all laughing, talking, enjoying themselves. A small part of my heart ached to join them, but was replaced with a wave of sadness, because, knowing me, I'd make everything awkward and ruin their fun.

So far today, they had gone to see a movie, played a game of soccer in the park, tried to make a cake (I say tried because it ended up in a food fight), cleaned up the mess from the baking disaster, and sat by the pool, just talking. Their friendship was truly incredible. I had been watching all day with awe and a tinge of sadness.

Also guilt. I was stalking them, plain and simple. That was creepy.

Just then, a curly haired boy ran out onto the back porch. "Sia! Mommy says I hafta go to bed and I gotta say goodnight."

Sierra. I knew Sierra.

She stood up and walked onto the porch, sweeping the little boy up in a big hug. "Goodnight, Wyatt," she said with a smile.

He giggled. "Goodnight, Sia." He waved to all the people sitting by the pool. "Goodnight, Sia's friends!"

They waved with a chorus of 'goodnight's, and Sierra ushered him back inside. She walked back off the porch to her seat by the pool.

"He calls you Sia?" I heard Deynan snicker. "Like the singer?"

Sierra laughed. "Honestly, I've never made the connection before."

"Not everything is a reference, Deynan," the scary redhead girl said, kicking a wave of water at Deynan.

He glared at her angrily. "Oh, you wanna go?" he challenged.

"You know what?" Ravi suggested, standing up, "maybe we should go for a walk."

"Good idea," Sierra agreed, following suit.

They collectively stood up and starting sliding on their shoes. Sierra raised her voice over the shuffle of feet. "The woods are really pretty this time of night. Let's go through there."

"Sounds like a plan," the blond boy said.

My heart skipped a beat. I was in the woods.

They began walking towards the spot I was hiding. I panicked. What to do, what to do...

I slowly started making my way to the left and hid myself behind some trees. I heard their chatter and the crunch of leaves beneath their feet pass me by. I let out a slight sigh of relief.

I began following them, as slowly as I could without losing them. I was clumsy as a walrus in the jungle, but by some miracle, I managed not to make any noise. Or at least, any noise loud enough for them to hear.

My heart thudded so loudly, it felt like my chest was about to explode. When was I going to approach them? It had to happen soon. Preferably, before they went back to that school.

Suddenly, I stepped on a twig, which made a loud snap. I froze. They froze.

I silently cursed twigs, revealer of stalkers in movies and life since the dawn of time.

"Did you hear that?" whispered the blond boy.

They all stood perfectly still, cocking their heads to the side, listening.

I couldn't move. My blood roared in my ears.

Then Ravi and Sierra simultaneously spun around.

Time seemed to have stopped.

My mouth was open, my eyes were wide. I still had my foot on the evil twig, my hands held up in what must have look like a defensive position. Without meaning to, I let out a very small squeak.

The others turned around, varying degrees of confusion on their face.

Ravi and Sierra shared a glance.

"Who the crap are you?" Deynan demanded.

"I..." I started to say. But the words wouldn't form. I was still frozen.

This is not how I expected this evening to go.

"Hey, I know you," Sierra said with a sudden smile. "It's Amarie, right?"

Slowly, I nodded.

"Guys, this is the girl that helped us in the arena fight when we were fighting Giselle," Sierra explained. "And the girl who helped me and Ravi into the castle to stop the Destroyer."

"Oh," the scary redhead said. "I sorta remember you. You're pretty cool."

"Thanks," I whispered, still wide eyed.

I hadn't expected Sierra or anyone else to remember me. Most people didn't. It struck an odd chord in me and I wasn't sure what.

The blond boy laughed. "Hey, you don't have to be nervous around us. You helped us out. That means we like you." He winked. "We're not so scary."

Something in his tone helped me relax. I slowly lowered my hands and gave a shaky smile.

"There we go!" he cheered. He stuck out a hand. "I don't believe we've met. Isaac Tretter."

I slowly grabbed it. His handshake was firm and confident. "Amarie."

"Deynan Soldano, Deynan like the last name, Soldano like the guitar a--"

"Deynan, shut up, we don't have to do this every time. I'm Ravi Jindal."

"Sierra Claget."

"Audrey Simone."

"Sophie Kirkelie."

I smiled weakly at them.

Sierra smiled back at me. "So, Amarie...what are you doing here?"

The smile fell off my face. "Oh. Well, it's kind of a long story...like, a really long story. I was kind of wondering if I could talk to your...leaders?" I bit my lip. "The Simone's, right?"

Audrey shifted her weight. "Yeah, they're pretty cool."

I blinked at her. "Wait...didn't you just say your last name was Simone?"

Audrey crossed her arms. "Yeah. And?"

My eyes widened. "Are you...their daughter?"

Audrey nodded. "Your point?"

I paused. "Um...no point, really. I just didn't know they had a daughter."

She raised an eyebrow. "Neither did I, until a few months ago."

"Okay, this is all very fascinating," Deynan interrupted, "but you still haven't explained why you're here."

I hesitated. "I...I want you to take me back to your school with you." My head lowered slowly. "I want to help you guys fight in the war," I whispered.

There was silence. The six looked at each other.

Sierra looked me in the eye. "Okay. We're boarding the ship tomorrow. You can come with us."

"What?!" Deynan exclaimed. "We don't know if we can trust this girl!"

My head hung a little lower.

"Aw, lay off, Deynan," Isaac said. "She's helped us out before, she knows about the war, and she looks terrified. You honestly think she's one of the bad guys?"

Guilt twisted in my stomach, but I didn't say anything. No matter what I had done in the past, I was doing the right thing now.

"Besides," Audrey said with a snort, "we outnumber her, so she'd be stupid to fight us."

A thought struck me. There was a way that I could fight all of them and win, but there was no part of me that wanted to do that. Ever again. And especially not with these people.

"How did you find us?" Ravi asked abruptly.

I looked up slowly. "Uh..." I winced. "Please don't hate me, but I've kinda been following you all day."

"What the crap!" Deynan hissed. Audrey's eyes narrowed. The rest looked somewhere between concerned and annoyed.

"Sorry," I said meekly.

Sierra's face softened. "Have you been waiting for the right moment to come talk to us?"

Slowly, I nodded.

She looked at me with pity. I felt weird. I was pretty sure no one had ever looked at me like that before.

Then she stepped forward and embraced me.

I stiffened. I KNEW no one had ever hugged me before.

She stepped back. "How about this? You can come and stay the night at my house with these guys, and then tomorrow morning while we're waiting for the boat, we can talk things out over Starbucks."

Deynan groaned. "Why are you so obsessed with Starbucks?"

"Coffee solves problems," Sierra replied simply. She turned back to me with a smile. "Does that work for you?"

"That would be...amazing," I breathed. "I mean, if it isn't too much trouble. I don't want to be a burden."

"Of course not!" Sierra exclaimed. "And my parents won't mind, I'm pretty sure. They're super chill. And besides, they're just happy I'm home."

"A completely different story from my house, which is where we were last night," Ravi commented.

Audrey snickered. "I love your little sister."

Ravi glared at her. "You and Aasha get along far too well for my comfort."

Audrey grinned evilly.

Sierra clapped her hands. "Then it's settled! Come on, I'll show you back to the house." She and the others began walking back. I cautiously followed them.

Sophie hadn't said much during the conversation, but as she passed me, she gave a shy smile, which I half returned.

For some reason, my heart was pounding wildly. I felt a surge of relief, and at the same time, nervousness. They had accepted me much quicker and warmer than I had expected. It almost scared me. If it had been anyone but them, I might have suspected them of tricking me.

But these people had good hearts. They were some of the strongest magic users in the magical world. I wasn't entirely sure how their magic worked, but I knew if was based on character.

And so for the first time in my life, I decided to trust someone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, I dreamt of a mirror. It was shattered, the jagged shards reflecting scenes of dark stones, an arm, a glaring eye. I couldn't make out what the image was supposed to be, it was so cut up.

But I could feel the tension of the moment so strongly, it felt as though my chest would burst.