𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍;
NEW DEVELOPMENTS

— REESE STOOD BY HER car, green eyes watching as caution tape was placed around building three and construction workers assessed the damage. School had been cancelled for two days as they tried to figure out what exactly had happened. At first, they assumed it had been a gas leak, but when that theory was proved wrong they reopened the school and building three would remain closed until further notice. Reese felt guilty, she didn't mean to do anything of that nature when she agreed to talk to Emmett but her magic and emotions went hand-in-hand, so when one went haywire, the other followed in suite. Reese dug her hands in her pockets, shifting her eyes away when she felt the gaze of the workers on her. She knew that she wore her emotion on her face, and if she looked as ashamed as she felt then they'd be accusing her in no time. Instead, Reese pretended to be examining her rain boots as they attempted to reconstruct the classroom she'd demolished. 

She was early, one of the only students yet to arrive, and Reese wasn't quite sure how to occupy her time. Flynn's minivan was parked in her usual spot, but Reese didn't have to guts to talk to her. Their argument was still fresh, and even though Flynn had found her in the woods after her episode, Reese couldn't pretend that everything was okay; because it wasn't. Flynn and Reese were on opposite sides of the coin this time: Reese wanted death, a cure for all the grief and pain that was slowly drowning her; Flynn, on the other hand, wanted life and she wanted Reese to find another way. Reese didn't want to find another way, she was perfectly content knowing that all her pain and suffering would come to an end and it would help people. In her mind, it was a win win: Reese finds peace and her family is free. She didn't know what was so wrong with that, but she wouldn't make the mistake of asking Flynn, not wanting to get slapped or lectured at again. So, Reese stayed where she was.

As Reese kicked at a loose piece of asphalt, students began pulling into their designated spaces. They swarmed the parking lot, chatting about the up and coming homecoming dance and what they had done on their days off. Reese glared at them, jealous of their normal lives and minuscule problems. She wished that she was like them, and with an aching heart, Reese remembered that at one point in time, she had been like them. In Minnesota, she showed up to Wayzata High with her group of friends and gossiped about the newest couple and planned for the school dance. She smiled and laughed; she wore pretty skirts and floral blouses. Reese Logan had been one of the girls that she now envied. Oh how the tables have turned Reese mused to herself.

She glanced down at the watch that adorned her thin wrist, taking note of the time. It was nearly seven thirty and the bell was bound to ring in a few seconds. Reese pushed herself off the hood of her car and strolled towards her first class. The light rain began to pick up, heavy droplets hitting the ground and splashing her boots, some of it got under her hood and rolled down her back causing a shiver to run up her spine. Reese's teeth chattered as she quickly pushed open the door of her history class, she hung her coat up on the hangers by the door and took her seat. The room was empty, with the exception of Ben Cheney whose head was pressed against the top of his desk and drool pooled near the corner of his mouth. Reese quietly sat down, not wanting to bother him. 

In the silence, she anxiously rubbed her hands on her jeans. It was a habit she developed after her episode in the woods, wondering when they were going to ruin something else. Over the two days that she got off, Reese spent it at the public library reading everything she could find about witches and magic. On a whim, she even read through her grimoire looking for the magic that Elizabeth had talked about. She probably wouldn't have even bothered if she hadn't seen Flynn's sticky note bookmark that read in her chicken scratch handwriting mission save reese. Reese knew how much it pained her friend that she was willing to just give up so easily, to literally roll over and die. But the more Reese read into it, the more she realized that the process would be of no help to her. Transferring her magic into nature wouldn't help her stop Morgana, so Reese shut the grimoire and ignored it.

Annmarie and Taylor had been on her mind a lot lately too, and that seemed to be the push Reese needed to find everything she could about what was going to happen to her when she turned eighteen. Annmarie had a crush on a girl in her class, she talked non stop about the pretty red head that shouted at a boy that was picking on Annmarie. Taylor declared loudly over dinner that he was going to marry his new friend, Laurel, when he got older, because the small girl complimented the hand turkey he made in art. Reese made up her mind at that moment; she wouldn't allow anything to happen to her siblings innocence, they would date and marry the girls they liked and grow old together. Reese Logan would make sure of it.

The bell rang loudly, pulling Reese's attention away from her hands and she saw Ben shoot up in his seat from the corner of her eye. The door pushed open shortly after and the rest of their classmates moseyed on in, taking their seats and whispering to each other in hushed tones as their teacher, Mr. Henderson, shed his own coat and began writing down their morning assignment on the board. Reese spotted Flynn's platinum blonde locks towards the front of the class, the girl practically cheek to cheek with Mike Newton as they rolled up little balls of paper and aimed them at the coffee mug that was teetering on the edge of Mr. Henderson's desk. Reese was relieved that Flynn was finding company in someone other than her — someone normal. Flynn was good for Mike, too; he didn't have to act the part of typical jock around her. Reese hoped that Flynn didn't push him away when she died, her friend was going to need someone that cared about her when Reese was gone.

The chair beside Reese pulled out and her green eyes moved away from Flynn's determined face and found Emmett Cullen sliding into the spot beside her. She nodded in a form of greeting to him, and then plucked a pencil from her backpack and began copying the questions onto a sheet of paper. Emmett mimicked her, his neat penmanship putting Reese's cursive to shame. She reminded herself that he spent decades in school, probably having teachers who were anal about the way letters looked. Reese had thought about Emmett a lot too, mostly his life and his family. She wondered — if only for a second — if she could become like them; loose her soul and get rid of the magic that had single handedly ruined everything good in her life. Then rational thinking kicked in: she needed her magic to save her family (also, blood grossed her out).  

"It's the depression," Emmett whispered to her, close enough that Reese could smell the fabric softener on his clothes. 

"Huh?" Reese frowned in confusion, blinking to bring her train of thought back to the task at hand. 

"Number three," Emmett pointed to Reese's empty line with the tip of his pen. "It's the Great Depression."

Reese wrote the answer neatly on the paper and then read over the fourth question. Before she could even guess, Emmett was mumbling to her again. "December seventh."

"Thank you, oh wise one," Reese grumbled sarcastically. "But I do know when Pearl Harbor happened."

Emmett shrugged. "You seemed stuck."

"I wasn't," Reese snapped and then sighed. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I just have a lot on my mind and I hate history."

"It's my best subject," Emmett declared proudly. 

"Gee," she rolled her eyes. "I wonder why."

"I could help you," Emmett offered, sending her a charming grin that had Reese's insides fluttering. "I make a great tutor."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not bad at history it just brings up a lot of memories," her eyes glazed over with thoughts of the past. "My dad was a history buff, if he went to college he would have become a history teacher. When I was little we used to watch the History Channel together and war movies, it drove my mother nuts but it was our tradition. It's like every time we go over this stuff I just hear my dad's voice in my head blurting out random facts and names, it just sucks."

Emmett's mouth opened but before the words could leave his mouth, Mr. Henderson's naturally monotone voice interrupted him. "Mr. Cullen, Miss. Logan, you do know that this assignment isn't a group project, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Emmett answered as Reese sat there slack jawed as her peers turned around and stared at her with amused expressions. "Reese just asked a question and—"

"And I don't care what Reese asked," Henderson responded, his lips curling into a frown. "This counts as a quiz grade, which you would have known if you'd bothered paying attention. Since you two seem to be above the rules, it would only be fair for you to receive zeros on this assignment. Seeing as the other students didn't get help."

Henderson maneuvered around the staring students and snatched the papers from Emmett and Reese's desks, tearing them in half and proceeding to drop them in the trash can by the door. Reese stared at the shredded paper, her heart beating quickly under her sweatshirt. Her hands were shaking, and as her emotions fluctuated her magic began to seep through her pores. The window shook before dropping open, causing the papers and pencils on her classmates to fly off their desks. The coffee mug Flynn and Mike had been throwing paper in to slipped off the ledge and hit the ground with a loud crash, shards of ceramic littering the floor. Mr. Henderson was struggling to shut the window and for Reese it became abundantly obvious that she was losing control. She was about to destroy this room too. 

"Please stop," Reese whispered, letting her eyes close so she couldn't see the damage that was about to happen. "Please don't do this."

Behind her eyelids, Reese pictured a peaceful place; where magic didn't effect her. She saw a field of purple lilacs and yellow daffodils, the sun hit her face warming the skin in a way she hadn't felt since before the deaths of her parents. Somewhere off in the distance, Reese could make out Annmarie and Taylor sprinting through the flowers with Poppy at their heels. Her heart was still banging away at her chest, her hands continued shaking. Then, there was a force on her fingers. Reese glanced away from her siblings and saw Emmett standing in the field with her, gripping her hand tightly in his own. 

"Breathe, Reese," was all he said, and she did. Reese didn't realize that she'd been holding her breath, but as soon as she felt the oxygen rush into her lungs she began to relax. Her adrenaline slowed, her magic slipped back behind the cracked wall Reese kept it locked away in. The sunny field melted away until all that was left were scattered papers, terrified students, a confused teacher, and Reese Logan and Emmett Cullen — the only two completely unaffected by the strong winds — with eyes locked on each other and hands clasped tightly together.

□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

— REESE LOGAN WANTED TO curl up in a ball and sleep for a whole year by the time school had ended. She learned that any use of magic usually wore her out (accidental or not apparently) and paired with the stress of nearly destroying yet another classroom with her uncontrollable magic left her feeling emotionally and physically drained. So, Reese ditched her last period and sat in the parking lot beside her car letting the cold rain hit her face.

She was shivering and her teeth were chattering together painfully, but she didn't want to move. Her pants were soaked, chilling her to the bone. She left her hair clinging to the sides of her cheeks and the back of her neck. It was peaceful out in the rain; no one was there to bother her or cause any triggers for her powers to go haywire. The chill made it hard to concentrate on anything besides how cold she was, leaving no room on her train of thoughts for the prophecy. Reese didn't want to leave that spot, but peace of mind doesn't last very long when it's relying on a school bell. 

The end of the day ringing echoed around the surrounding area, breaking the silence Reese had been enjoying. She pulled herself up from the pavement, groaning as her joints refused to function properly. Her classmates poured out of the doors, talking loudly and heading towards their cars. Reese spotted Emmett walking beside his siblings with a large grin on his face, Flynn was a couple of people behind him talking to Mike Newton with exaggerated hand movements and a deep from settled on her face.

Emmett's smile broadened when he spotted her, leaving his sibling's side he strolled up to Reese, leaning on the hood of her car. When she didn't greet him, Emmett followed Reese's line of sight to Flynn O'Connell who was stepping into her van and bobbing her head to some music — and knowing Flynn, Reese knew that it was classic rock. Emmett nudged Reese's shoulder lightly, urging her in the direction of her friend. "You should talk to her, Reese."

"Why," Reese frowned. "So she can yell at me again because we're not doing something her way? Or so she can slap me for, once again, not doing things her way? I think I'll stay right here."

"She cares about you," Emmett defended Flynn. "Why do you think she followed you into the woods? You should have seen the look on her face, Reese. She was worried."

Reese had tried to ignore that part; freaking out and practically killing anything that touched her? Sure, she could handle it. But having Flynn O'Connell watch her crumble after she had made a big deal about being okay and that she didn't need help? Reese was too prideful to bring it up. So, Reese Logan did what she did best: ignored her emotions, she pushed them down to her feet where she would deal with them at a later time. Emmett seemed to sense that she wasn't going to take the first step — probably from the way she firmly planted her feet on the ground and crossed her arms defensively across her chest — and sighed loudly.  

"Go," Emmett urged her, lightly pushing Reese in Flynn's direction.

Reese grumbled unhappily under her breath but still stomped towards Flynn's car. The closer she got, the louder the music was. Reese was able to identify the song Tequila Sunrise from the Eagles and felt the darkness she worked hard to keep at bay bubble upwards. Her mother was a huge fan of Glenn Frey, and that meant that every Sunday when they deep cleaned the house the Eagles would be blasting through the speakers — with some Kenny Loggins thrown in for Paul. Reese pretended that she couldn't hear it though as she stood a foot from Flynn's door. It took her a few seconds, but after a stern look from Emmett and a deep, concentrated breath, Reese reached over and knocked on the window. 

Flynn jumped and shut off the radio, turning to face Reese, fixing her with a confused stare. She rolled down the window, shivering at the frosty air. "You rang?"

"Hey," Reese mumbled awkwardly, shuffling her feet. "Just coming to say hi."

"Hi?"

Reese nodded. "Well, I've said it, so I'm going to walk away now—"

"Wait!" Flynn shouted, causing Reese to stop moving. Her friend pushed open her door, accidentally slamming it into the side of the car next to her. Flynn grimaced and checked for a mark before stumbling from her seat and rushing towards Reese. "We haven't talked in, like, three days and that's all you have to say?"

Reese nervously twirled a piece of hair around her fingers. "I didn't think you wanted to talk to me."

Flynn sighed. "I may not be happy with your life choices right now, Reese, but we're still friends."

"We are?"

Flynn gaped at her. "You seriously thought I would stop being friends with you after one argument?" She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Can't get rid of me that easily."

"Lucky me," Reese's lips twitches upwards and Flynn grinned. 

"So," Flynn crossed her arms across her chest to block the chill from getting inside her jacket. "What exactly happened the other day? You know with the whole woods thing and confronting Cullen?"

"I talked to him," Reese felt her heart palpitate at the memory. "He told me what he was—"

"So he is the cold one!" Flynn whisper shouted. "Wicked."

"And then I destroyed the classroom," Reese continued with a pointed stare. "I don't know what happened. I just got all upset and scared and my magic went haywire and the next thing I know, the whole room is torn apart. Then, because as if that wasn't bad enough, I ran to the woods and killed some trees. But you saw that."

"Yeah," Flynn nodded. "That was nuts."

"I don't know why this shit happens to me," Reese groaned, rubbing her temples. "Like, of course I have to get these magic powers I can't control."

"It'll be fine, Reese," Flynn soothed.

"Will it?" Reese argued. "Because every time I get happy or sad or angry or feel anything my powers hurt things. People. Like right now! I'm stressed, and I can feel it working through me like lava. And I have no idea how to stop it!"

Flynn reached out and grabbed Reese's hand, squeezing it tightly. As her grip grew stronger, Reese gasped feeling the uncontrollable magic flow out of her and surge into Flynn. She began to panic, not wanting to hurt her friend, and then suddenly three sets on blank lines appeared on Flynn's forearm. The darker they got, the less unbalanced Reese felt.

"Well," Flynn cleared her throat. "That's new."

authors note: sooo it's been a while since i last updated or really been on here but i'm in australia rn for a working holiday and i've been so busy meeting new people and experiencing a whole new place and trying to loose the jet lag,,,but this chapter wasn't that great and i'm sorry you had to read it but its here and i'm finally getting into what flynn is which with be vital in the later chapters !!!!!